The Messenger Vol. 53 No. 8 August 2015

The Messenger a publication of the Evangelical

Mennonite Conference

Volume 53  No. 8  August 2015

Convention 2015

The Insanity of Obedience

INSIDE: Believers' Christmas in Matthew 2 page 6 Pursuit: Running Life's Race page 10 Choose the Way of Shalom! page 13

DIANA PETERS

Day focused on caregiving reveals a theme: The Golden Rule page 16 Church delegates discuss, plan, and decide page 19 $2.00

Editorials

On preaching at any time

“P

reach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2 NLT).

Jesus Christ is “the fulfillment of the Old Testament.”

Because of that, a preacher can speak on themes “that run throughout both Testaments and that sometimes contrast the New Testament fulfillment with the Old Testament promise,” said Dr. Elizabeth Achtemeier (1926-2002), an Old Testament scholar who also taught preaching.

“If the preacher uses one of these motifs to tell the story of salvation and thus to make clear who Jesus Christ is,” she said, “it must be emphasized, however, that he is dealing with events that happened and not just with ideas.” “…The figures of the Bible refer to God’s actions in the salvation history, and they must never be reduced to the

status of mere ideas and metaphors.” She cautioned, “The preacher who would proclaim the Biblical message is not permitted wild flights of fancy and allegorical devices designed to relate the Testaments to each other or to our present life.

“Rather, the preacher is bounded by the sacred history of what really happened and what God actually did in relationship to his people, and it is this which is sent forth by the motifs common to both Testaments” (The Old Testament and the Proclamation of the Gospel, Westminster, 1973, 134-135).

Dr. Achtemeier’s cautions respect God’s Word, are worthy of our attention, and fit well with an evangelical understanding. Our Christian faith is based on God’s historical acts, and Scripture is the inspired record and interpretation of these acts—God’s written Word.

– Terry M. Smith

The preacher is bounded by the sacred history of what really happened.

••

Reporting on religion

S

ome news stories seem to focus on the “decline” of religion in Canada; others treat evangelicals together, sometimes skeptically.

Reporters’ skills vary and so do the results.

Some journalists, though, report on the work of Dr. Reg Bibby, who challenges some of this “decline” perspective with research results that surprised even him. Bibby is a sociologist, a University of Lethbridge professor, and a Baptist seminary graduate.

Bibby says that years ago he and others predicted interest in religion would decline. He didn’t anticipate what has happened in Canada: the Christian Church here is resilient.

Roman Catholics and evangelicals are not sharing in the decline happening in some mainline churches. Our

2 The Messenger • August 2015

nation is not as secular as some people think, Bibby says, but is comprised of two large populations of religious and non-religious people with others unsure of where they stand. For details, see his free online book, A New Day (2012).

At their best, media members strive for “fair and balanced” reporting. Whatever this means, producers, publishers, editors, and reporters are more complicated than what we see of them in print, on radio. on TV, or online. They have personal opinions, values, beliefs, ethics, and practices. They live, ponder, and die.

Members of the media are of many faiths and no faith, active and inactive. Other factors are at play and these affect how reporting happens. How can it be otherwise?

Meanwhile, let’s strengthen the Church in Canada.

– Terry M. Smith

Roman Catholics and evangelicals are not sharing in the decline happening in some mainline churches.

Table of Contents Features

Columns

6

5

Believers' Christmas in Matthew 2 – Nik Ripken

10 Pursuit: Running Life's Race – Gord Penner

13 Choose the Way of Shalom!

– Ray Hill

16 Day focused on caregiving reveals a theme: The Golden Rule – Kevin Wiebe

19 Church delegates discuss, plan, and decide – Terry M. Smith

Departments 2

Editorials

3

Pontius’ Puddle

4

Notices

23 With Our Missionaries 28 With Our Churches

Focusing On

Convention 2015 – Tim Dyck

22 An Education App

The value of not over-stating 'Anabaptist distinctives' – Terry M. Smith

page

9

27 Further in and Higher Up

Jesus does not ask you to volunteer!

– Layton Friesen

31 Been Thinking About

Success and failure – Ward Parkinson

page

17

34 Here and Far Away

The Gospel: the best gift – Jocelyn R. Plett

35 Stewardship Today

Having a will: communication is key – Kevin Davidson

36 Kids’ Corner

page

Some things are better together – Loreena Thiessen

30

32 In Memory 33 Shoulder Tapping

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 3

The Messenger

Notices

Volume 53 No. 8 August 2015

Not Elvira Cote’s children

EDITOR TERRY M. SMITH

ASSISTANT EDITOR ANDREW WALKER

Correction: In A heart’s cry: for more workers in First Nations communities (With Our Missionaries, June), it was mistakenly said that Elvira Cote’s daughter and son-in-law work for Tribal Trails with NCEM. In fact, Michelle and Eric Sinclair are not related to her. The error is unfortunate.

– Terry M. Smith, editor

••

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.

Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary graduate

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

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

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

ISSN: 0701-3299 Publications Mail Agreement Number: 40017362 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. 11–November 2015 issue (copy due September 08)

4 The Messenger • August 2015

Troy Selley Oak Bluff Bible Church Master of Divinity

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.

n tio en nv Co

Column • Focusing On

15 20

Convention 2015

W

by Tim Dyck General Secretary

BCM

ere you at Convention 2015 in Brandon? Those who attended were certainly not disappointed with the event. The main sessions were hosted at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium by the University of Brandon.

Convention weekend began on Friday with the Ministerial gathering at the Ebenezer Christian Church in Brandon, focused on the theme of caregiving. Many people expressed appreciation for the practical and wise advice offered by presenters David Thiessen, Charleen Barkman, and Irma Janzen. Each of the presenters was able to draw on their experience in giving care in specific situations. Video of the Ministerial event will be available soon.

The Conference Council meeting on Saturday had a different format—one which provided for much more feedback from delegates. The delegates seemed to enjoy this more interactive format, and there were plenty of helpful comments to the questions that boards had presented to the churches ahead of time. In the later afternoon, speaker Nik Ripken and his wife

Floating on tubes was one event.

Ruth were on hand to answer questions about the persecuted church in an informal question and answer workshop.

Those who were not delegates took advantage of tours around Brandon and the famous Souris Swinging Bridge. Youth spent Saturday afternoon floating down the Little Saskatchewan River on inner tubes. They managed to get back to dry land just prior to the big storm that came through Brandon in the later afternoon.

The storm caused a power outage throughout the city of Brandon, so the Saturday evening session began with only auxiliary lighting available.

The inspirational session went ahead as planned, and power was restored just prior to the evening message.

Nik challenged us with his stories of how the church has responded to persecution in many different places around the world. He reminded us that according to Scripture, persecution is normal and should be expected.

Ripken also indicated that persecution increases when the church is faithfully witnessing to Jesus, and people are responding. As long as we keep silent, there is no need for persecution.

He encouraged us to align ourselves with the persecuted church by being faithful in our witness to Christ.

Our vision is that we will encounter God in life-changing experiences when we gather, as God challenges us, renews us, and fills us with his Spirit. Convention 2015 certainly accomplished this and much more. Check out the highlights, sessions and other media by going to the convention 2015 media page.

Nik Ripken challenged us with his stories of how the church has responded to persecution in many different places around the world.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 5

20 15 Co nv en tio n

Message One of Four

Believers’ Christmas in Matthew 2

ISTOCK

by Nik Ripken

6 The Messenger • August 2015

n tio en nv Co

Disappointed

These Chinese leaders asked me to “imagine that you were a wise man in the story.” They suggested that there is no darker humour in the Bible than calling these men wise.

Of course, these men should be honoured for following the star so faithfully for years. They covered hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles faithfully. But they failed to go the last mile wisely. These were unwise wise men.

They did not stop to learn language and culture. They should have understood that Herod was a dictator and a killer. Yet they met with him and gave him information as to the Christ child’s birth.

Chinese believers intimated that the only thing we owe persecutors is our personal testimony. Yet these “wise men” told the dictator what he wanted to know, the age of the Messiah.

They told Herod how long God had been working in that area.

They gave Herod a timeframe within which to look for his opposition. These unwise wise men did not have street smarts. They did not know how to operate wisely within another culture.

Herod sends them on, saying, “When you find this Christ child, send me word, so that I can come and worship him.” What a liar! Before they could return to Herod, causing more damage, God sent them a vision not to return to him, sending them home a secret, safe way.

Chinese believers asked me why God did not send these wise men a vision not to go to Herod in the first place. I turned this question back on ➢

PHOTOS: ANDREW WALKER

They were disappointed in how casually we celebrated Easter and became agitated at how we celebrate Christmas. I described our Christmas trees, lights, caroling, the presents—how we reenact the Christmas story with our children as Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, angels and the Wise Men. I made Christmas into a party.

These polite and godly Chinese believers disputed our Western interpretation. They threw their politeness aside as they reminded me that the wise men were not in the Luke 2 version of Jesus’ birth. They did not enter the narrative until Jesus was possibly two years of age, their story being in Matthew 2. I tried to defend my cultural practices, but could not.

The Chinese asked, “Can we tell you what we see in this story?” They were willing to invest in me if I was willing to write myself inside it.

Imagine: You Were a Wise Man

15 20

T

he first time that I went to China, believers’ questions surprised me. They asked if Jesus had made it to other countries besides China and rejoiced to discover he had. Their second question was, “Since Jesus has made it to other countries, are they persecuted as we are?” That’s a penetrating question!

They were anxious to learn how we celebrated our Christian calendar. They were astounded that in the U.S. we have a day of Thanksgiving set aside by our government.

They could not picture their government thanking God for anything.

Enjoying the freedom to gather: the worship team from Iglesia Cristiana Tabernacule Ebenezer.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 7

20 15 Co nv en tio n

them. Their reply astounded me. They said, “Dr. Ripken, we don’t know why God waited, but we think that God himself did not believe that anybody could be so foolish as to tell Herod that a new king had been born Christians in China wonder if believers elsewhere are persecuted as they are. and that his reign was coming to an end!”

They could not identify with Jesus at his What did it do to the wise men to later hear baptism, share in the glory of his teachings and that how they attempted to find the Christ child miracles, help him carry his cross, and share in his contributed to the deaths of hundreds, if not thou- resurrection. Why? They became partners with sands, of babies? They were unwise wise men. the government against the Kingdom of God. The Chinese reminded me that God always Imagine: You Were a Teacher calls us to be a witness to government, never its “Imagine you were a teacher of the law in the partner. There is no government on earth, they story.” Imagine the pride of teachers as they reminded me, whose chief intention is to extend visited Herod. What question did Herod ask? and deepen the Kingdom of God. Where the Christ child would be born.

The scribes should have known Herod was 10,000 Arrested a dictator. Like persecuted believers today, they Today approximately 10,000 believers globally should’ve asked, “What are you going to do will be arrested. Their persecutors seek to diswith this information? Why do you want this cover two pieces of information. They never ask information?” those persecuted to share their testimony. They Nearly two years after Jesus’ birth, these want to know where is God working and for teachers aligned themselves with Herod. To how long. Then they know where to go and who protect their positions, property, possessions, to persecute. The wise men and teachers gave and way of life, they became a partner with the Herod this information. government.

Imagine: You Were a Parent in This Story

Meal time at convention reflects our freedom to gather.

8 The Messenger • August 2015

“Imagine you were a parent in this story.” Through the shepherds you have heard that the angels had announced the Messiah’s birth.

Then Herod’s security police kick in your door, rip your children from your arms, and slaughter them.

Because of the wise men, Herod had his killers murder any male child two years

n tio en nv Co 15 20

of age and under. This was done in Bethlehem, Judea, and surrounding territories. There were no birth certificates then and Herod’s killers were not concerned with discretion.

Some mothers could have lost three children.

Persecuted believers know it is extra-biblical, but visualize that many people 30 years later crying, “Crucify him, crucifyd him,” were parents of children killed after Jesus’ birth. He caused their children’s deaths and was getting what he deserved.

It is not surprising that many Muslims, especially women, are not embracing Jesus as their Lord.

The price they pay for being “in Christ” is huge.

What shocks us today are thousands of Muslims who embrace Christ aware of the price.

Would we follow Jesus if it costs us greatly as parents? What are we willing to risk for the Kingdom of God when our children are factored in?

Imagine: You Were Jesus

“Imagine you were Jesus in this story.” Again, it is extra-biblical, but what did it do to Jesus when he discovered that because he was born, children were slaughtered? What a painful day that was for Jesus. Satan is an expert at taking what we intend for good and turning it into evil.

It must have broken Jesus’ heart.

Note the wisdom in this story. God caused the outsiders, the supposed wise men, to return home a secret way. They detoured from their planned route.

Not so for Jesus. There was no escaping the cross. For Jesus to deviate from the cross would waste these children’s blood. How do you follow God’s will when Satan repays with evil?

Painful

It was painful to write myself into the story. I realized how much I had made the Christmas story a party. I had been an unwise wise man during my years in Africa. Due to my lack of language and cultural acquisition, I have caused harm to the Kingdom of God. In my desire to take the gospel to places it had not been, I made alliances with security

MacGregor EM Church Bell Choir

policemen and others in government. I told myself that I was using them when, actually, they used me.

We buried a child in Africa and asked, “Do we stay, risking our other sons, or is it time now to quit and go home?” We have been like Jesus, in Somalia having our good actions turn to evil by those who stole the food from those who we served.

The narrative in Matthew 2 is not part of the Christmas story that is dressed up with trees, lights, choirs, and the giving of gifts. It’s a practical story about being wise partners with Jesus.

It’s about learning language and culture, witnessing rather than partnering with government, discovering wise ways to take risk as families for the Kingdom of God. It’s about being like Jesus and staying the course when the road is rough.

Writing ourselves into God’s narrative brings the Bible, into present. I will never again dress up Christmas. I will write myself into God’s narrative, learning the lessons of those who have gone before us. I want to be a wise wise man.

Nik Ripken is a missions veteran of 30 years with a concern for the persecuted Church. He has written The Insanity of God and The Insanity of Obedience. He served as EMC convention speaker, where a longer message was presented on Friday evening. Because of his travels, we choose not to publish his photo.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 9

Abundant Springs 2015

Pursuit: Running Life’s Race

by Gord Penner

I

DREAMSTIME

ran my first half-marathon nearly fifteen years ago. I still recall the first training run. It was only five kilometers, but the memory is etched in my mind (and body) deep enough to know I never want to get into shape again!

Paul uses the running analogy in Philippians 3:12-14 to describe the spiritual journey. Choosing to forget past difficulties, he says, “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Finding an Identity

The first question asked when entering a race is “Who are you?” It begins most conversations with new people. If my name is met with looks of confusion, I’ll often add I’m the son of “Bill Penner, the preacher.” At this point, many older people smile with recognition.

Younger folk recognize me as a professor at Steinbach Bible College, and we often discover a common relationship through a former student.

Yet, like anyone else, I seek an identity beyond my connection to my family or job.

As a teenager, I recall Dad telling Mom, “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”

I gagged, and thought, “Dad, you need to get out a little! There are a few other 'fish in the sea.’” My high school contained the necessary evidence to refute his assessment.

When I matured a bit and read about David’s appointment as king of Israel, I began to understand what Dad meant. When Samuel went to anoint one of Jesse’s sons, God instructed him not to consider his “appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7 NLT). Samuel bypasses the Jesse’s seven older sons and anoints God’s choice based on different criteria—the heart.

Reflecting on my teenage evaluation of beauty, in some ways it was not that far off. It is based on image, measured by different criteria.

In Genesis 1, God evaluates each step of His creating work as “good.” After creating humans, “in His image,” He describes the completed work as “very good” (Gen. 1:31). The psalmist also recognizes that God created him wonderfully complex and declares, “Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it” (Ps. 139:14).

Running well in life’s race requires a correct understanding of our value as God’s image bearer, and a relationship to God as our Father.

These form our true identity.

10 The Messenger • August 2015

DESIGNPICS

Running well in life’s race requires a correct understanding of our value as God’s image bearer, and a relationship to God as our Father.

These form our true identity.

Knowing the Route

approached him to remind him of dad’s instructions that he forgive them. Joseph replied, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Gen. 50:20).

Joseph trusted God’s greater plan, even when individual circumstances don’t make sense.

Too many folk claim a favourite verse where God healed or rescued believers and assume that must be God’s plan for everyone. Reading the whole Bible paints a picture of God’s overall plan, and helps us when our individual circumstances don’t make sense.

Reading the whole Bible paints a picture of God’s overall plan, and helps us when our individual circumstances don’t make sense.

My cousin recently ran the Spruce Woods half marathon—a trail run. Not familiar with the route, he missed a turn, adding nearly three kilometers to the race and forfeiting his chance at a personal best time. Some of life’s detours are thrown at us; others are results of choices we make.

When I was eighteen, I lost a spiritual hero.

James was a few years older than I, and had come to counsel at our church Bible Camp in Lynn Lake. At the fireside with a guitar, he sang genuine praises to God. The following winter he was killed while piloting his small plane home from a Christian youth convention. I questioned God’s plan. Why lose a faithful worker?

Joseph’s story in Genesis describes a man whose journey included hitting a few “ditches” along the way. After being sold by his brothers and then wrongly convicted by Potiphar’s wife, he was thrown into prison and forgotten there.

He could have focused on his hardships and become a resentful and bitter man.

After his father died, his brothers nervously

Running the Race

Having recently completed my tenth halfmarathon, I have grown to love the exhilaration of crossing the finish line, welcomed with a finisher’s medal. It represents the culmination (benefits?) of disciplined preparation and a determination to complete the race.

One of my biblical heroes is Elijah (1 Kings 17-19). I like the picture of him running ahead of King Ahab’s chariot from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel (approximately a half-marathon’s distance). His subsequent runs of 200 kms to Beersheba and 350 kms to Mt. Horeb are equally impressive.

That’s one ultra-marathoner! ➢

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 11

DREAMSTIME

Often ignored in Elijah’s story is the preparation required before the fire from heaven and the subsequent runs begin. His training includes several years in the Kirith Ravine and at a widow’s home at Zerephath. The word kirith means “cutting or separation.”

Elijah’s time alone in the desert illustrates the truth of the statement, “You don’t realize God is all you need until God is all you have.” God becomes his complete focus. Next, God leads him to Zerephath, meaning “crucible or refining.”

Both locations are required preparation in order for God to use him in the showdown on Mt. Carmel. When he returns to meet King Ahab, he is prepared for God to use him to demonstrate that Israel’s God, Yahweh, is the one to send the fire and rain. Ba’al, the one Ahab supposed to be the fertility god, was no contest!

Paul rebukes the Galatian church for veering off course in their race. “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?”

(Gal. 5:7). Successful completion of any race means a focus on the finish line, but begins with adequate training.

second-, or thirdplace finish. Yet each one reminds me that I completed!

As Paul nears the end of his life race, he writes “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

Paul’s race was not an easy one! He reflects on his hardships in 2 Cor. 11:23-27, recounting times where he was stoned, beaten, shipwrecked and facing various other dangers. Jesus reminded his disciples that they would have difficulties, yet promises, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt.

24:13).

We enter life’s race by identifying ourselves as a child of God and recognizing that we are His masterpiece.

Necessary training, including knowing the route, will prepare us to journey well. Regardless of the challenges, we must run the race with our focus on the finish line where our master and coach stands ready with the finisher’s medal and the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:21).

We enter life’s race by identifying ourselves as a child of God and recognizing that we are His masterpiece.

Claiming the Prize

My running medals hang on the dresser mirror in our bedroom. None of them represent a first-,

12 The Messenger • August 2015

Gord Penner, BRS, MDiv, MTh, is a minister at Ridgewood EMC and professor of Old Testament at Steinbach Bible College. This article summarizes his messages as speaker at Abundant Springs 2015.

Choose the Way of Shalom!

by Ray Hill, assistant pastor

A

few years ago I subcontracted for a Winnipeg businessman who bought old apartment blocks to renovate and sell as condominiums. The process was attractive to the economy. Builders profited. The middle class moved to the inner city. Tax income went up.

Business and government both benefited.

The question that no one asked was, where did those who had benefitted from cheap but low standard housing now have to go?

We are good at counting beans and complaining when someone else benefits and we lose. We need to take a more critical look at profit making and land ownership and their relation to community. Who benefits? Who loses?

Does the Bible have anything direct to say about these very modern issues or is it too out of date?

Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds!

When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.

They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance (Micah 2:1-2).

Picture a thirty-something business man getting up after a night of planning, picking up his cell phone, making a couple of calls to buy and sell and making a killing on his portfolio—not so out of date as it seems!

David was as secure as any man could be, but it was not enough; and he managed to mess up his own life, his family’s future, Uriah’s family, and the future of the nation.

DESIGNPICS

Prophets and Cell Phones

Historically, most of our wealth was acquired from free land and slave labour. We have used disenfranchisement, marginalization and demonizing of indigenous peoples and blacks to obtain freebies and we conveniently forget where they came from.

The King Takes a Wife

David took Uriah’s wife. Remember that in Genesis 2 it is God who took (the same Hebrew word) a rib from Adam then gave the woman back to him. It is God who takes and God who gives. However, David, like many of us, wanted life on his own terms. “So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her” (2 Sam. 11: 4, emphasis added).

Years before, when Israel first asked for a king God had warned them that kings will send their children to war and take the best of their children and animals. There is a sobering warning to Israel in 1 Samuel 8:17: “You will cry out because of your king... but the Lord will not answer you.”

David was as secure as any man could be, but it was not enough; and he managed to mess up his own life, his family’s future, Uriah’s family, and the future of the nation. ➢

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 13

“The best communities are risk-free” is oxymoronic. The best communities are where risk is rampant, where we make ourselves vulnerable to our neighbours, where we hold on loosely to what we have, where we allow others’ hurt to enter into our lives and allow God to redeem us and our community through our mutual pain.

God demonstrated this for us in Jesus’ life and humiliating death. He asks us to take up His cross and follow Him.

Living Jubilee

Because David despised and scorned the inconvenient Word of the Lord, he is confronted by the prophet Nathan. “Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife ... because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die” (2 Sam. 12: 9, 14).

Is it permissible for the rich and powerful to take what they want? For whom is “Do not covet!” and “Do not commit adultery” good news (Gospel)?

In the story of Naboth’s vineyard, Ahab and Jezebel took, stole Naboth’s vineyard “And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it” (1 Kings 21:16, emphasis added).

Naboth had understood that land is a covenant gift and an inheritance from the Lord. He would not and could not give it to Ahab. “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. But if he (the original landowner) has not sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property” (Lev. 25: 23, 28, my additions).

Like David, Ahab was unwilling to accept the inconvenient Word of God so he allowed his wife Jezebel the Canaanite to send letters to arrange for Naboth’s death, paralleling the story of David and Uriah.

Like David, we all desire security in life and freedom from risks.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to live in a community where there are no risks, where we are perfectly secure?

Living With Risk

Like David, we all desire security in life and freedom from risks. Wouldn’t it be amazing to live in a community where there are no risks, where we are perfectly secure?

14 The Messenger • August 2015

Community Before Profit

Though Naboth’s murder (like Uriah’s) is tragic and a great evil, it is not the major issue here.

What is more the issue is the tearing apart of the fabric of community. Land (or a wife!) is not to be taken by those with the most wealth and power. Because it is a gift from God, it may only be borrowed from the community to whom it is gifted by God. The purchase is always conditional. The Lord is the title-holder.

Ironically, the peoples native to America who were caricatured by land-hungry “Christian”

Europeans as savages and pagans agreed completely with the biblical view of land use and ownership.

heart to refocus my wants. How? I have decided to let God be my Shepherd and want what He gives.

In Two Minds

What are the benefits of living this transformed and subversive life? See Psalm 23:2-3 and consider these explanations. “He makes me lie down (complete trust in the Shepherd) in green pastures (satisfaction). He leads me beside still waters (freedom from anxiety). He restores my soul (shalom, a life of peace).

God’s promises are solid and dependable, not the deceptive promises of this world. Where do you seek security: Possessions? Income? Land?

Government or private pensions? Relationships?

The list goes on.

There is a high cost to humanness in community. The costs of scorning and despising God’s word are beyond measure. Israel was warned that if they disobeyed, they would lose the land and security. The same warning stands for us today.

Seek the Kingdom of God. Choose the way of shalom.

Matthew speaks to our struggle between these opposing political and economic mindsets as if he were living today: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matt. 6:24).

Contrast Matthew’s warning with the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” I shall not want! I have purposed in my

Living Psalm 23

Ray Hill is the assistant pastor at MacGregor EMC, where he presented the sermon that this article comes from.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 15

20 15 Co nv en tio n

Day focused on caregiving reveals a theme: The Golden Rule

by Kevin Wiebe

O

n July 3, 2015, the EMC Ministerial met at Ebenezer Christian Church in Brandon, Man., for the EMC Ministerial Day to encourage pastors, deacons, and lay ministers in their ministry. The hospitality of Ebenezer Christian Church was first class as they opened their doors for this event, serving lunch and snacks throughout the day to those who came.

David Thiessen, presenter, chats with David Kruse.

The sessions were designed especially to encourage deacons and others involved in stark opposition of many beliefs prevalent in in the important ministry of caregiving. church culture today. It is often believed that a good Christian is a happy Christian, yet ThiesCaregiving in the Church sen reminded us of the seasons of grief that all David Thiessen, minister and people will experience. To former conference pastor, normalize grief as a season was the first speaker of the of life of the Christian is to day, setting the theological encourage people to live more foundation for caregiving authentic lives with God and as a responsibility of church one another in times of trial. leaders. Jesus called himself Grief often makes people the “Good Shepherd” and feel isolated and alone, and Thiessen reminded us that, the pain of loneliness is one “We are but under-shepherds that resonates with people of the Good Shepherd.” around the world. Thiessen One of the first things to be addressed in his reminded us that throughout the pages of talk was grief. The psalms are peppered with Scripture, specifically in the Psalms, Ecclesiaslaments, with instances of people grieving the tes, and Lamentations, God legitimizes such pains of life. Thiessen’s talk about grief stood grief. Within the church, however, such grief is too often ignored or hidden.

Thiessen said, “People like to ask ‘how are you doing?’ not because they care, but because they hope to hear that everything is okay, so they don’t have to think about something uncomfortable. There is a lot of pressure put on hurting people to smile and pretend like its all okay so that the rest of us don’t have to deal with them and their grief.”

The ministerial of the EMC were challenged by David Thiessen to take grief seriously, to walk with people through

ANDREW WALKER

To normalize grief as a season of life of the Christian is to encourage people to live more authentic lives with God and one another in times of trial.

Alvin Plett, BLO chair

16 The Messenger • August 2015

n tio en nv Co 15 20

it, and to not approach those who are grieving as having something to offer, but rather as learners. As Thiessen said, “We need to sit at their feet and learn what it means to be in pain and be in grief.” Thiessen’s advice to the EMC ministerial echoed the words of Paul in Romans 12:15 to “mourn with those who mourn.”

Caring in Mental Health and Illness

Ministers, deacons, and elders gather to learn.

Irma Janzen, associate pastor and former MCC Canada worker in mental health, addressed the EMC Ministerial in the second session, talking specifically about mental illness. She began by surveying everyone in the room with several different questions, asking them to raise their hand if they ever experienced a specific physical ailment.

Then, after those questions, she asked everyone’s hands to remain down for another question.

She asked if anyone in the room had ever dealt with depression. Silence filled the room in the moments that followed, and she revealed that the reason she asked hands to remain down was because of an unhealthy stigma surrounding mental illness that exists in our churches. In a handout she gave to those in attendance, she wrote that all too often we view “mental illness as a weakness of character rather than as an illness.”

Some of our trouble comes from not properly differentiating between mental illness and mental health issues. Janzen said, “Mental illness refers to an illness such as schizophrenia, bi-polar mood disorder and clinical depression,” while “Mental health issues are issues in people’s lives that affect how they live. People with good mental health are aware of these issues and deal with them in healthy ways; people who are unaware of their issues or deal with them inappropriately have not so good a level of mental health.”

She addressed some of the many causes for depression, and underlined the need for good theology in dealing with these issues, exposing unhealthy beliefs that are all too common in North American churches. She mentioned several unhealthy beliefs: like the belief that depression is the result of sin, that the only therapy people need is prayer, that hallucinations and delusions are strictly demonic, and that health and wealth are the ultimate evidence of a godly person.

EMC ministerial who were present that day were encouraged to know and identify the symptoms of mental illness and to have places and doctors where they can refer people who are in need of such support. She also encouraged everyone to avoid overly simplistic answers and solutions in dealing with things are much more complex than we often think.

Caring for the Palliative and Aging

Irma Janzen, presenter: avoid simple solutions.

Charleen Barkman, with South Eastman Health, spoke to the EMC ministerial about caring for the elderly, and the many challenges that can often be associated with such ministry. She has a wealth of experience working with the elderly, and spoke ➢

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 17

20 15 Co nv en tio n

they may think there is someone inappropriate in the bathroom with them.

One of the biggest underlying points she made is that, “All behaviour has meaning.” Just because we do not understand why a person experiencing dementia behaves a certain way does not mean that it has no logic. Being sensitive to the difference between our reality and their reality is key in seeking to minister to those suffering in this way.

Barkman ended the session by offering to do more in depth teaching in churches who wish to learn more about ministering more effectively to the elderly, the palliative, those who are aging, or those suffering from dementia.

The Golden Rule Charleen Barkman: all behaviour has meaning.

primarily about how to minister to people who are experiencing dementia. The response and questions of the ministerial confirmed that this is indeed a relevant and challenging area of ministry for many in the EMC. Barkman explained the difference between short-term and long-term memory, and how people with dementia often lose the short-term memory, so try to make sense of their world with only the ability to use their long-term memory.

One example is that many people think they are in their 20s and get distressed when they see an old person looking back at them in the mirror; and since they don’t recognize themselves,

Each of the three sessions carried a common thread, though nobody mentioned it specifically.

Luke 6:31 says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” What this means, however, might surprise us. If we truly want to minister to those who are grieving, to those dealing with mental health issues, or to those who are aging, we must first seek to understand what it means to be them.

We must ask ourselves, “If I were in their shoes, suffering from the same problems as they are, what would help me the most?” To simply act without thinking what our actions communicate to someone different from us can often do unintended harm. Instead, we must approach caregiving humbly, seeking to understand before we act. We must seek to “Do to others as you would have them do to you” without forgetting to learn what that means to others.

Kevin Wiebe is the pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship (Stevenson, Ont.), holds a BA (Communications and Media) from Providence University College, and serves on the BCM.

Len Barkman, conference pastor Ward Parkinson

18 The Messenger • August 2015

n tio en nv Co

ANDREW WALKER

15 20

Moderator Abe Bergen welcomed delegates to the meeting.

Church delegates discuss, plan, and decide

B

RANDON, Man.—Church planting is the best way to reach people, the Statement of Faith review proceeds, and the Strategic Planning Committee is active—those were among the key points from the EMC conference council meeting held on July 4, 2015, at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium, Brandon University campus.

Welcome and Opening

Moderator Abe Bergen welcomed delegates to the meeting. David Kruse led in a song, Praise my Soul the King of Heaven. Richard Klassen, pastor at Kola, opened with Hebrews 5. Klassen said while we all want to go deeper with the Lord, depth does not involve forgetting the basics or moving past the Church; it is to know the Lord and grow in Him.

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

Tim Dyck, EMC representative, said EFC brings valuable information to churches, gets involved in court cases to aid Christian organizations, and invites churches to sponsor refugees from Syria and Iraq. We are inviting EMC churches to sponsor refugees; some churches already are.

General Board

Abe Bergen, chair, said that it has presented core values and vision statements, which were adopted. It has promised to look into the role of women, and through CCAL (Canadian Council

of Anabaptist Leaders) was involved in a Truth and Reconciliation hearing and a discussion with MC Canada on same-sex relationships. The Global Anabaptist Survey has been completed; the EMC results have yet to be distributed. How should EMC representatives discuss same-sex matters with other conferences? The response: to be compassionate while not compromising a traditional view of marriage.

Board of Church Ministries

Gerald Reimer, conference youth minister, said Abundant Springs went well, but attendance was down to 400-plus in 2015 from 500-plus in 2011.

The attendance from 20 sending churches is declining, six are maintaining, and six are growing. He encouraged churches to be deliberate about sending their youth, rather than waiting for them to want to go.

Kevin Wiebe, BCM member, said that archival materials were to be transferred to Mennonite Heritage Centre, but this was revisited because the site is not fireproof. We will retain the photo library and materials needed for ongoing work in the conference office. Irreplaceable items will be copied and originals moved to MHC. [The EMC and MHC have resigned a Memo of Understanding.]

Jessica Wichers, BCM member, said The Messenger used a significant grant for many years ($45,000 in 2014w). An audit done this year showed that its recipients do not ➢

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 19

20 15 Co nv en tio n

fit the categories as outlined by the granting organization.

How is your church addressing biblical literacy and how can the conference further assist you? Some responses indicated a lack of familiarity with materials currently sent to churches for local distribution or already available on the EMC website.

Board of Missions

Fred Buhler, chair, said the board has been discussing “tipping points”: the need to replace missionaries retiring after service in Paraguay, the future of the Minga Guazú church plant, and the preference of churches to give to their outreach or to organizations they know better.

Ken Zacharias, foreign secretary, said the board interviewed five missionary couples this weekend and all have great stories. Churches are encouraged to invite missionaries to churches.

Erna Plett and Benny and Esther Goertzen, all who served in Paraguay, have retired. The church plant in the city of Guadalajara has unique ministries.

How does sending foreign missionaries affect local ministries in your church and how can EMC Missions be more relevant to your church’s mission initiatives? The upshot is that both local ministries and foreign efforts need to be maintained.

Board of Trustees

Allister Penner, chair, said various policies have been adopted on harassment, conflict of interest, and capitalization. The financial audit has been completed; copies of audited statements are available. One GAP question was on proportion of household income given: 38% of EMCers give more than 10%, 34 give 10%, 26% less than 10%, less than 2% give nothing. These are encouraging statistics. There was discussion about the EMC website: it is useful, but can be improved.

How could the EMC stewardship consultant engage in your church community? The focus is on communication and promotion. Isn’t this what happens somewhat already through some staff? There is no EMC “levy” on churches, but there is a desire that everyone participate in its joint ministries.

20 The Messenger • August 2015

Jessica Wichers, BCM

Nominating Committee

Sid Reimer, chair, shared some findings as a result of 90 contacts made in the process of fulfilling their mandate: some regions are not well represented; there is a deliberate attempt to include Hispanics; the General Board (GB) currently does not include women, Latinos or Aboriginal people; the GB is a mystery to most people; and there is a need for a public relations campaign.

Board of Leadership and Outreach

Alvin Plett, chair, said it was a significant loss when David Funk stepped down, there is concern about the huge transition of pastors, and the Minister in Training Program has been refreshed.

Ward Parkinson, conference pastor, said that conference staff interact with churches and notice the diversity in EMC. Many churches have had or are involved in building projects, there are many new pastors, and a few churches are involved in mediation processes.

Darryl Klassen, chair of the Statement of Faith Review Committee, said the committee is actively working to collect and review the material. About 18 churches have sent in their reports and more are invited. Any revisions will be scripturally based and God honouring. A draft will be presented at Conference Council in November 2015 and again in July 2016.

n tio en nv Co

Janet Plenert, MWC and MDS

Charles Koop, church planting coordinator, said that church planting is the best way to reach people; it renews the sending church. Church plants are comfortable places for new people and people who don’t fit. Church planting is hard work and scary. It requires us to be crazy.

What questions or concerns do you have regarding our EMC Statement of Faith review?

Comment received: To poll congregations for their input when most have little theological training seems risky. Response: we are asking the grass roots what they see; the EMC Ministerial will process the results.

Strategic Planning

15 20

Take Aways

• There is an opportunity for resettling refugees.

• The General Board is encouraged to interact with compassion on same-sex issues but without compromise.

• Abundant Springs is a wonderful gathering for our youth.

• The Messenger remains useful, but its government grant might not continue.

• There is a need for local ministries and foreign mission to both grow.

• We heard a great story about NTM Aviation stepping out in faith and how God responded.

• The EMC website is okay, but overall communication needs to improve.

• The Statement of Faith review team will work towards a draft with a goal of presenting it to the Ministerial for approval in 2016.

• The consensus is that the new format of providing delegates opportunity to interact was very good.

– Terry M. Smith Note: This article is based mostly on the Conference Council meeting minutes, and was checked by Andrew Walker and Tim Dyck.

Terry Smith was not present at the meeting; with the BCM’s permission, he attended his high school class reunion in Alberta.

Four project areas have come out of strategic planning: sharing our stories, expanding our work, reimagining our gatherings, and developing a standardized biblical understanding. They have been taken to the boards and the Strategic Planning Task Conference Council July 2014 Elections Force is starting to work on MODERATOR – Abe Bergen implementation.

BOARD of Church Ministries – Kim Muehling The study revealed a level of BOARD of Missions – Len Barkman, Fred Buhler, Brad Brandt administrative inefficiency: the importance of communication has BOARD of Leadership and Outreach – Albert Loewen, Ralph Unger, Bryon Bezanson BOARD of Trustees – Jake Elias been revealed, but needs work; the General Board’s work needs to NOMINATING Committee – Sid Reimer, Hilda Koop, John Bueckert, Antonio Pitta, Iria Rodriguez be clarified; and tasks may need to be addressed.

Appointments In the current structure INTER-MENNONITE Chaplaincy – Stephanie Klassen each board is accountable to MCC Canada – Ray Plett, Ron Penner conference council, except the MENNONITE Disaster Service – Dennis Keating BLO, which is accountable to the Ministerial. This affects how they STEINBACH Bible College – Trevor Arsenault SCHS – David Driedger work together.

MCC Manitoba – Ed Barkman

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 21

Column • An Education App

W Terry M. Smith Executive Secretary

Anabaptism has theological riches to offer to the wider Church.

It’s precisely as we guard against overstatements that its insights can stimulate more people within and beyond our circles.

hen you hear the term “Anabaptist distinctives,” what comes to mind? Perhaps being biblical, Christ-centred, missional, believer’s baptism, and peace. Within and outside of the Anabaptist church, each contains challenges. I suggest that they do so best when not over-stated.

Biblical—Early Anabaptists were concerned about Scripture and their interrogators were impressed by their biblical knowledge. Martin Luther (who translated the Bible into German) and Ulrich Zwingli (under whose preaching proto-Anabaptists were nurtured) were also concerned about teaching Scripture. Why, then, were the Radical Reformers so critical of their approaches? It’s been said that Radical Reformers were concerned about applying Scripture to all of life. What did “all” mean in this case? “All” is a huge word. Each stream of the Church has its blind spots. What, though, did the Radical Reformers say is important to see?

Christ-centred—What does this mean?

Even if Mary and the saints distract some Catholics at times, is it fair or accurate to say that Catholics, the magisterial reformers, and today’s evangelicals lacked or lack a focus on Christ? All Christians view the Old Testament in the light of Christ’s coming. That said, the approaches and implications vary.

For some Anabaptists, to see Scripture “through the lens of Christ” is another way of saying Christ teaches and models pacifism and non-resistance. The Sermon on the Mount, screened through non-resistance, becomes the “canon within the canon,” a challenging approach (Dr. James Reimer, Mennonites and Classical Theology, 280-281).

Missional—Anabaptists were concerned about the Great Commission, yet what did they see included within it? When we say missional today, do we mean missions (conversion, evangelism, foreign missions) or mission (the total task of the Church—missions, social justice, creation care, and more)? Did early Anabaptists separate missions from mission or bring them together?

22 The Messenger • August 2015

DESIGNPICS

The value of not over-stating ‘Anabaptist distinctives’

What did Menno Simons say that a “true evangelical faith” is to include? How might this differ from the view of MCC or a mission board?

Believer’s Baptism—In the sixteen century believer’s baptism was a distinctive, though it’s quite common now. To strengthen our modern practice of believer’s baptism, we need to help new Christians see that baptism matters, it is to happen soon after one believes, it is an act of membership, and it isn’t a graduation ceremony (dropping out contradicts it). What does your church do?

Peace—By rejecting war, post-Schleitheim Anabaptists challenged broader society. How did the early debate between its staff- and swordbearing members affect the Anabaptist church then? What about now? How does the current Church today pursue peace with all people (Heb. 12:14)? As “peacemakers” (Matt. 5:9) how do we engage, not withdraw from, society and cultures amid the bloody 21st century?

Anabaptism has theological riches, based on an earlier study of Scripture, to offer to the wider Church. It’s precisely as we guard against overstatements that its insights can stimulate more people within and beyond our circles.

How do we discuss these matters today?

Since no mainstream Anabaptist gathering ever claims infallibility, discussion and critique remain proper. As we do so, though, let’s respect how early Anabaptist testimony continued despite the use of tongue screws, heated tongs, drowning, and burning. Because of the suffering of these earlier believers, there is something for us to learn (see 2 Tim. 2:1-3).

This was presented as a devotional to the Board of Church Ministries on May 28, 2015.

With Our Missionaries

Exploring a move to Avant

A move to Kenya

BOM

SOUTH SUDAN

Thank you so very much for your prayers as partners in Serving South Sudan. Also thank you for your partnership, I hope that I can touch base with you, just to connect.

Gordon, Eric Musee (local leader) and Grace Loney (teacher) had a valuable time meeting with South Sudanese church leaders—consulting, evaluating project productivity, training in the theology of work, listening and assessing needs, and encouraging pastors and community leaders.

The country is still in unrest and we heard many painful and heart-wrenching stories.

We want to specifically thank those of you who pray and encourage us. We look forward to your ongoing investment as partners in bringing Good News to the nations.

We are moving along in our transition and are now scheduled to go to Kansas City, Missouri, in July for two weeks of training with a mission called Avant (formerly Gospel Missionary Union).

We have felt God's guidance through our home churches and advisory in moving this direction, but have a few more steps to complete before this can be confirmed.

Sharon and Gordon Skopnik

Thank you so much for your continued prayers in this regard.

– Gordon Skopnik Gordon and Sharon Skopnik (Wymark) are seeking God's guidance on future service.

••

BOM

LESOTHO/KENYA

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord” (Jer. 29:11). In our fifteen years in Lesotho we have seen many people come and go.

There is something very exciting about seeing God move people, and we have to admit that we have felt a bit jealous when we’ve seen that happen to others. We have often asked God, “How about us? Is it time for us to be leaving Lesotho?” And the answer has always been, “No, not yet.”

Until now. In March a new position within MAF came to our attention and we started to make enquiries about it.

In April we made a visit to see the program and hear from the folks on the ground there.

With the recent opening of the MAF South Sudan program, MAF Kenya has had to re-evaluate their relevance in Kenya and they have decided to focus on Marsabit, a part of Kenya that has seen little development until now and remains one of the least reached areas in Africa.

Kari and Melvin Peters with their family

There is some urgency to get this new project up and running and so we are looking at making the move to Kenya in July. We are excited about this opportunity for MAF and we are thrilled that we get to be a part of it.

God’s leading has been so incredibly evident that, in spite of the unexpectedness of it all, we are confident this is where he wants us.

– Melvin and Kari Peters Melvin and Kari Peters (La Crete) serve with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 23

With Our Missionaries

I’ve come home!

24 The Messenger • August 2015

BOM

BURKINA FASO

So what’s it like being back in Burkina?

I prefer walking, rather than crowding into taxi’s back seat that already has three people in it. So I walked the mile to Sonde Augustin Coulibaly’s house (from the SIL Centre in Ouagadougou) and got some exercise.

I walked past the SIL Centre dining hall and noticed a party happening. When I peeked in, I saw Paul and Martine Solomiac.

I’ll quickly greet them and sneak out again. But, no, sneaking back out was not possible. They invited me to join the festivities (a farewell party for people I’ve never met!) and urged me to help myself. “There’s lots of food.

Fill your plate. Welcome here!”

The Ouagadougou air was too hot at +37C. The bus from Ouaga to Bobo was too cold. I was shivering when we pulled into Boromo. The doors opened for a 10-minute stop and a blast of heat, along with a blast of voices, greeted me. “Sesame cakes for sale—full of vitamins. Buy some Fanta or Coke. Apples, bananas.”

There was a cacophony that was almost deafening and such a crowd of girls wanting to sell things that it required effort to worm my way through them to go to the bathroom. I paid the fee for the bathroom use, then wormed my way back into the bus.

In Bobo I dropped in to greet Siaka and Claire Traoré before catching the bus to Orodara. It was 2 p.m. and they were eating lunch. They invited me to wash my hands and sit down at the table to eat. “Of course, you will eat with us!”

Siaka and Claire’s hospitality was so warm, genuine, welcoming. I wish I could learn to be like this.

Ouagadougou is very hot, Bobo is hot, and Orodara is less hot. Shortly after I arrived in Orodara, dark clouds passed by to the North with lightning and probable rain in Tin (but none here); the thermometer dropped from +29C to +27C and it felt comfortable after the city’s heat.

At 7 p.m., after an all-day trip by bus from Ouagadougou to Bobo to Orodara, I walked to town to find something for supper.

I didn`t even make it out of the Guest House courtyard without being greeted in Siamou by a young girl with a baby on her back. She must know me, but I have no idea who she is. After a lengthy greeting, she handed me a small plastic bottle full of black honey.

“Are you selling this honey?” I asked. “No, this is a gift

Paul and Lois Thiessen

for you.” I asked Tenkon, the guard at the gate, whether the girl knew me. He said, “No, she doesn’t know you.” I discovered that I reminded her of Seydou Djan (Loren Entz). This girl had once lived in Samogoyiri and knew the Entzes well.

Then I continued my trek to town and stopped to buy some mangos. I tried Siamou, realizing that the mangoselling ladies might be Jula speakers. Sure enough, they responded in Siamou.

Tears filled my eyes as I walked away. I had this overwhelming sense of having come home.

Home to my people. Home to the Siamou people. Back to my home where the Siamou people (friends and strangers) respect, love, and welcome me whenever I come back.

Back to the place where my 30 years of bumbling efforts to speak this complicated tonal language are welcomed with grace that says to me, “You are one of us!”

I haven’t even arrived in Tin yet (June 20) and already I feel like I’ve come home.

– Paul Thiessen Paul and Lois Thiessen serve in Burkina Faso, living mostly in the village of Tin.

With Our Missionaries

And so the transition begins

BOM

BRAZIL/CANADA

Sitting, waiting, for a gas attendant for eight minutes, then finally remembering that gas pumps are “Self-Serve.”

“What do you mean you don’t eat chicken hearts? Not even on pizza?”

“Yes, officer, I saw the stop sign, but there was no one coming.”

So you’re saying we don’t need to go get any signatures authorized by the Notary Public?

“Put the toilet paper in the toilet? That is so gross!”

Driving across the prairies and not remembering a thing, but feeling well rested.

Okay, so not all of these have actually happened yet, but most of them have. There definitely are things that are different one country to another that we need to adjust to.

Thank you for all your prayers over the last few months.

We had a wonderful send off from Brazil, with many friends, although very sad to see us leave, giving their blessings and excited for us and for what this move will mean for Quest.

Then, days after arriving in Canada, we took a trip west that included meeting with some of our current supporters

Shannon and Dwayne Klassen with their children

and childhood friends and a couple of days of re-entry counselling.

Shannon was able to begin working at her part-time job the day after our return from our trip west. She has been working every day since and has been feeling the effects of getting back into working shape.

Three days after returning from out west, Dwayne made a trip to Chicago (Wheaton College) to be present at a portion of TeachBeyond’s New Missionary Orientation.

There he was able to meet with a couple who are preparing to join our team in Brazil for a minimum of two years.

Dwayne was also able to meet up with the TeachBeyond staff with whom he will be working a portion of his time after our Home Assignment (furlough) and transition time ends at the end of 2015.

We took possession of a house on July 13. Praise God for how He orchestrated the purchase of a beautiful home for us. He provided us a house that is beyond anything we expected we could afford. Praise the Lord!

Once again, thank you for your involvement in our lives through your prayers, support, and encouragement. We praise God for how He has and will continue to meet our needs.

– Dwayne and Shannon Klassen Dwayne and Shannon Klassen (Community Bible Fellowship, Swan River) serve in Brazil with TeachBeyond in camp ministry, but currently are in Canada.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 25

With Our Missionaries

Thank you for encouragement!

ETHIOPIA/CANADA The past three months have passed quickly since we arrived on Canadian soil and we are now starting to count down the days until our departure on Sept. 3.

We have enjoyed connecting with friends, family and many supporters and supporting churches including those living in Man., Sask., Alta, and BC. Thank you to all who have hosted us in their homes. It is an honor to be part of a great cloud of witnesses.

Please pray with us as we return to Gesses: that the strongholds of the witchdoctors, fear of evil spirits, revenge, and alcoholism would be broken and that the power of the one true God would be recognized among the Gumuz nation. Pray too for the evangelical church in the West—that it would represent Christ in love and truth and stand firm in the faith in while being surrounded by our secular culture.

– Rolf and Angela Kruse

KRUSE

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

Rolf and Angela Kruse with their children

Team Kruse is ready to play.

Guadalajara Prayer Team 2015

Advancing Ministry Through Prayer

Apply By: Friday, Oct. 2, 2015

November 6-16, 2015

Cost: $1400 (approx.)

Ministry Project: $100 of your trip fee goes towards a ministry project that will help further the efforts of the missionaries’ work.

Accommodations: Billeting in missionary homes.

Food: In missionary homes and local cuisine.

Contact: Call the EMC office at 204-326-6401 or email Diana (dpeters@emconf.ca) or Gerald (greimer@emconf.ca) to request an application form.

26 The Messenger • August 2015

Column • Further in and Higher Up

Jesus does not ask you to volunteer!

F

by Layton Friesen

DESIGNPICS

ollowing Jesus has always been hard, but today unbelief is getting easier. There’s a difference. I can imagine achieving the happiness and significance I desire–without Jesus. My mind flits over to that possibility regularly. This is how we often doubt in the modern world.

Ask yourself: for how many of my personal dreams and goals do I absolutely need Jesus? Do I want to be a great parent? Have a successful career? Find love? Make a difference in my community? Be rid of illnesses of body and mind?

Many people around us have met those goals, and it’s never occurred to them that they would first need to be baptized. It’s never occurred to them that to get what they want in life they must follow the Bible or worship Jesus with the Church. And they are not just worldly pleasure seekers. They may be sacrificing to change the world for the better. Let’s face it: many unbelievers are happily making a radical difference in this world without following Christ.

Thus the question that haunts some of us by night: why keep following Jesus when we don’t seem to need him for anything we really want in this life? Is he just fire insurance against the next life?

Jesus never claimed to make our dreams come true—at least not in any straightforward way. When he called his disciples, he did not inquire about their personal life goals: “Peter, What do you dream of doing for God? How can I help you meet those goals?” Nothing of the sort, only, “Follow me” (John 21:19).

Jesus does not have volunteers in his Kingdom, only disciples who take up the cross daily.

Volunteers know what they are getting into and sign on because they can see what the task is and how this fits their values and goals in life. Volunteers think Jesus matches their plan to change the world and so they add him to their lifestyle.

But disciples are taken into a strange country by a path shrouded in mist. A spiritual hero of mine, Hans Urs Von Balthasar remembered Christ showing this to him on a hike in the Black Forest as a young man. Christ said:

“‘You do not have to choose anything, you have been called! You will not serve, you will be taken into service. You do not have to make plans of any sort, you are only a pebble in a mosaic prepared long before.’ All that I had to do was simply leave everything behind and follow, without making plans, without desires or particular intuitions.”

Volunteers will have few doubts since they manage their own destiny. As a disciple, though, you will doubt because your life have been taken from you into the fathomless Kingdom of God. “You will stretch out your hands and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go” (John 21:18).

Your life has ceased the restless angling to and fro to calculate a better future for yourself.

You have given up the illusion that having mastered the game of life, you can now predict the future. You have lost your way but cannot yet see how Jesus will lead you home. Will those who lose their life find it?

And so disciples will be thrown back into unexplainable questions. We seek to give an account of our faith, but how can one finally diagram the logic that snatched us from those fishing nets and bid us to follow after Him?

Jesus never claimed to make our dreams come true—at least not in any straightforward way.

Jesus does not have volunteers in his Kingdom, only disciples who take up the cross daily.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 27

With Our Churches Kleefeld EMC

Two members received

KLEEFELD EMC

KLEEFELD, Man.—Chantelle Shiestel and Silas Bohren were baptized at the Kleefeld EMC on June 14, 2015, and accepted into membership. We wish them joy and blessings as they worship and serve the Lord, as well as in their upcoming marriage.

– Louella Friesen

Chantelle Shiestel and Silas Bohren

•• Portage Evangelical Church

Two more photos of baptism PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man.—As reported in the July issue, on Sunday, June 14, 2015, a baptismal service was held at Portage Evangelical Church. Three individuals identified with Christ in water baptism: Kari Miller, Madison Bueckert, and Rachel Wiebe. Here are a couple more pictures.

– Catherine Epp and Terry Smith

STAN WIEBE

Pastor Les Kroeker, Rachel Wiebe, and Randy Wiebe

Pastor Les Kroeker, Madison Bueckert, and Terrence Bueckert

28 The Messenger • August 2015

Free for Sunday School!

Contact info@emconf. ca or 204-3266401.

With Our Churches Many Rooms Church Community

What is a house church?

JENNIFER KORNELSEN

WINNIPEG, Man.—”What is a house church?”

A house church, I am finding, is a very delicate balance. Almost like a small, remote island with a very particular ecosystem. If you have too much or too little of a certain species, everything is affected!

Conventional churches with dozens or hundreds of people don’t seem as fragile as a house church— one person leaves, a new family joins, and the general atmosphere remains the same, the programs and the worship can be maintained.

An ideal house church is only six to 12 people. In this number you want a nice balance—multigenerational, multi-ethnic, and multi-gifted. You hope that there will be a couple good teachers, a few people with musical gifts, and people who can cook for a shared meal.

You want a healthy balance of those that have lots to give and those who depend heavily on the church to meet their needs. You need a host home, and you need someone to plan and schedule your meetings. You desire a perfect equilibrium and you’d like to have it all the time!

Many Rooms Church Community is almost never in perfect equilibrium. We experience all the fluctuations of health, un-health and seeking-health. We are three house churches. We might feel that one of our groups is balanced for a very brief time and then a change causes everything to feel “off.”

RESPONDING REBUILDING RESTORING

To find out how you can help bring people home: call

1-866 866--261 261--1274

The Langside Street church shares a meal.

Suddenly we have too many people in the living room to welcome anybody else. Suddenly we don’t have critical mass to provide anything enriching for our children.

Suddenly the needs in a group overwhelm those who are caring.

We would do well to remind ourselves of a few things, a lot more often: • a house church is an exhausting venture: the level of connectedness, the joy and pain of vulnerability, the quest for balance, the cost of hospitality, the constant need to respond to growth by adding another church.

• a house church is so reliant on God: we need His divine guidance as we seek balance, we need patience and trust when we aren’t achieving it, we need to be faithful even when we wonder if we’ll ever be healthy.

• a house church is a beautiful way to spend our lives on behalf of one another and for Christ: it is exhilarating, tiring, creative, authentic and challenging.

God is holding this off-kilter group of followers.

–Jennifer Kornelsen

or go online

mds.mennonite.net

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 29

With Our Churches Prairie Grove Fellowship Chapel

Learning to listen

DANIEL MCINNES

LORETTE, Man.—In summer the Prairie Grove Young Adult Sunday School class has finished for the year. Our group has a unique dynamic. We have all known each other for a long time (most of us went to youth together, and some of us have known each other for longer still) and as a group we are eager to take our faith to a deeper level.

This year we had the opportunity to choose what we wanted our Sunday School topic for the year to be. After some deliberation, we decided upon the topic of “hearing God” a very applicable topic for the stage of life we are all in.

The atmosphere of this Sunday School class was different than any I have been in before. Our teacher, Darnell Plett, is good at creating a challenging and safe environment. Nearly every class Darnell would ask each of us, by name, to give our thoughts on something, or to report on something that we had discovered.

He asked everyone, even those who would not normally speak up. Darnell would ask, but it was clear that if you had nothing to say you could just say so. Everyone was called out and specifically given a chance to talk, but were not forced to make something up.

Another element that made this class so unique was the expectations placed upon us. Darnell would often give us an assignment, like looking through five chapters of the New Testament to see what we could find about God speaking,

Darnell Plett led a challenging class.

30 The Messenger • August 2015

Prairie Grove Fellowship Chapel meets here.

and specifically, how the Holy Spirit helps with that.

We would each get our own set of chapters, and it was up to us to parse through the passage on our own and find the relevant information. We could not rely on others doing the work for us, and thus we were motivated to do our best; not only so we would learn, but also so that we could give an accurate report to the rest of the class.

One week we split into two groups, guys and girls, and took some time to pray for each other. We specifically asked God to reveal to us a word or picture to encourage the person we were praying for. We all did this for each member in our group.

After we prayed for the person, we shared what encouragement we felt God wanted us to pass on. It was awesome to see God revealing to us pictures or words of encouragement that we could not have come up with on our own.

This past year of Sunday School was good. Really good. For some people it was one of the first times that Sunday School was actually interesting and helpful. A willing attitude probably had something to do with that, along with a subject we were excited about, and a wise teacher. But in the end, God blessed us and showed us that he does indeed still talk to us and that listening for him is worth it.

– Daniel McInnes

Columns • Been Thinking About

Success and failure

T

ISTOCK

here are times when ministry gets just plain discouraging. It can even be that way in conference work. I’d love to be able to report regularly that all of our churches are bursting at the seams, that growth is exponential, and that all of our pastors are energized, fruitful and delighted. But, honestly, it’s just not that way.

That description could apply to some of our churches and some of our pastors, some of the time. But not always. Not by a long shot. In truth, while many are rejoicing, growing, and abounding, we also have churches that are stagnating or dealing with tension or conflict. Some are barely hanging on. We have some pastors who are embattled and struggling, experiencing wilderness.

In our calling to come alongside, my conference staff colleagues and I sometimes wonder how we can better help. Who are the ones to turn things around? Are there certain nuggets of advice that will work wonders? What is most needed? Is it more prayer? Is it revival?

It gets one wondering about our definitions of success and failure. Author Rachel Held Evans muses that as most denominations in North America “face declining membership and waning influence, Christians may need to get used to the idea of measuring significance by something other than money, fame, and power. No one ever said the fruit of the Spirit is relevance or impact or even revival.”

I am convinced that Jesus usually measures success differently than we. Try reading the beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12) and not come away with that impression. I believe the message of the cross must inform our understanding of success. Jesus is in the business of redemption, not fanfare. He deals in resurrection, not leverage or posturing.

I was encouraged today as I read Rachel Held Evans’ honest and gut-real words about her own failures in church life, and I received those words as a salve to the soul. I close with more of her words (from Searching for Sunday, 112-113) and with a prayer that you will receive them the same way: “I often wonder if the role of clergy in this age is not to dispense information or guard the prestige of their authority, but rather to go first, to volunteer the truth about their sins, their dreams, their failures, and their fears in order to free others to do the same. Such an approach may repel the masses looking for easy answers from flawless leaders, but I think it might make more disciples of Jesus, and I think it might make healthier, happier pastors. There’s a difference, after all, between preaching success and preaching resurrection. Our path is the muddier one.

“Church was alive and well long before we came up with the words relevant and missional, and church will go on long after the grass grows through our cathedral floors. The holy Trinity doesn’t need our permission to carry on their endlessly resourceful work of making all things new. That we are invited to catch even a glimpse of the splendor is grace. All of it, every breath and every second, is grace.”

by Ward Parkinson Conference Pastor

Who are the ones to turn things around? Are there certain nuggets of advice that will work wonders?

What is most needed? Is it more prayer?

Is it revival?

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 31

In Memory

John L. Thiessen 1929-2015

“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

It has pleased our heavenly Father to take our dear husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, John L. Thiessen, to his eternal home on March 31, 2015, at the Red River Valley Lodge at the age of 85 years.

He was predeceased by his parents John B. and Elizabeth Thiessen, seven sisters and three brothers.

Dad was born on Nov. 13, 1929, in Rosenort, Man., the second youngest children to John B. and Elizabeth Thiessen. Although he only attended school to the sixth grade, he excelled in math. Dad worked on the family farm and enjoyed pond hockey during the winter months. At an early age he demonstrated his mechanical abilities.

Upon confession of his faith, Dad was baptized in July 1951 into the fellowship of the Rosenort EMC. On May 24, 1952, Dad married Gladys Dueck, the love of his life, and they shared almost 63 years together.

God blessed them with five healthy children.

At age 15 Dad worked for Jack Loewen of Rosenort as a mechanic and then in approximately 1958 Dad purchased the business from him. He named it Thiessen Motors, which later

32 The Messenger • August 2015

changed to Rosenort Motors in 1965.

He sold and serviced Fort Motor products.

In 1962 Dad took on the GM franchise as a Pontiac Buick GMC dealer, as well as the J. I. Case franchise much the same time.

With the help of good employees and a loyal customer base, Dad won numerous awards and trips, which he shared with Mom and his employees, to places like Hawaii, Nassau, and Miami.

His customers were very special to him, and he frequently would share his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with them.

Dad had a heart for missions and enjoyed seeing firsthand the EMC Missions work in Paraguay when he travelled to South America in 1966.

Dad had a sincere personal relationship with his Lord and Saviour, which he demonstrated by his daily devotional life.

Over the years Mom and Dad enjoyed special trips to the Holy Land, Europe, and numerous tropical vacations.

In the Fall of 2004 Dad experienced chest pains, which resulted in major heart surgery in January 2005.

After the surgery, he never quite regained his strength and in 2008 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which slowed him down with daily activities.

Mom was his dedicated caregiver, along with the assistance of home care until Dec. 20, 2013. Dad was admitted to the Red River Valley Lodge where he resided till his passing. Mom was a daily visitor for Dad, helping him with his evening meal.

Dad’s funeral service was held on April 6, 2015, at the Rosenort EMC. Dad is survived by his beloved wife Gladys, daughter Terilyn and husband Jim, son Mark and wife Bonnie,

daughter Gayle, daughter Pamela and husband Cam, daughter Michelle and husband Craig, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The family wishes to thank the home care nurses and the nursing staff at the Red River Valley Lodge for their kindness and care.

– His Family

Calendar Manitoba September 10

Missionary Fellowship Location: TBA

September 24-26

Winnipeg Prophecy Conference Victoria Inn 1808 Wellington Ave. 204-783-8376 www.wpgpc.org

October 23-24

Mennonites, Medicine and the Body: Health and Illness in the Past and Present The University of Winnipeg Free admission. Register on site. http://mennonitestudies.uwinnipeg.ca/ events

Shoulder Tapping 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.

*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* 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.

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.

High Level Christian Fellowship (HLCF) is seeking a full-time pastor. HLCF is a diverse but well established congregation serving in a community where oil and gas, farming and forestry are the driving industries. HLCF has an average attendance of 130 members and adherents.

The successful candidate would be able to relate and work well with people working together towards building an active community of believers.

If God is directing you in this mission please forward your resume to either Jake Neufeld at j.neufeld@ peacecountrypetroleum.com or Greg Derkson at mariederkson@gmail.com or by phone Jake (780821-9432) or Greg (780-926- 9553).

Pelly Fellowship Chapel is seeking a three-quartertime pastor. Pelly is a small community located in a farming area, surrounded by lots of fishing and hunting opportunities. PFC is a small church with a predominately older congregation. We do have an active children's ministry with bridges to young community families.

PFC is looking for someone who has strong preaching and teaching gifts along with a heart for reaching the lost. PFC has a nice manse with a large yard and garden area.

Interested applicants can contact Gordon Bellows at 306-5484361 or email a resume to gbellows@ sasktel.net.

more formal “programs” that exist today, but, most importantly, people either need to accept Jesus or follow Him in victory. We are building a team passionate about following God by discipling people into mature Christians and ultimately replacing our leadership positions from those we work with.

Please email us at generaldirector.mcl@gmail.com for a full job description or inquiries.

Providence University College and Theological Seminary invites applications for the position of enrollment officer. Candidates with a strong Christian value system and lifestyle, and a commitment to Christ-centred university education are encouraged to apply.

This is a full-time, 12-month position. The Enrollment Officer plays an active, important part in the work of the Enrollment Management Office as the primary contact between the future student and the institution throughout the application process.

Applicants should have a commitment to Christian higher education; have strong interpersonal skills, excellent communication skills, customer service attitude, team-player attitude, strong organizational and detail management skills, and a high degree of personal initiative. Must be prepared to organize own schedule and work independently. They should be familiar with the programs of Providence University College, Mile Two Discipleship School, and Providence Theological Seminary.

Inquiries and Resumes should be addressed to Human Resources, Providence University College, Otterburne, MB R0A 1G0; 204-433-7488, ext. 222; (fax) 204-433-7158; hr@prov.ca.

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.

Please advise us when it is no longer needed.

Other Positions Mid-Way Christian Leadership seeks a full-time caring team member to support the small group of believers in Grand Rapids, Man., under the leadership of Fred and Stella Neff.

It is a paid position moving into a raised support funding model. The individual will support Christians as they grow into the Christian leaders of the north in Manitoba. Helping lead Sunday School, preaching, and leading Bible studies are some of the

Site in Region 3 Community Bible Fellowship, Swan River, Man. For ticket info, contact thiessen.rita@gmail.com

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 33

Column • Here and Far Away

The Gospel: the best gift

T The Gospel is so utterly wondrous and revolutionary to life, it’s a wonder those who understand it aren’t at a constant simmer of praise and adulation.

34 The Messenger • August 2015

DESIGNPICS

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

he Gospel, I’m discovering, is the best gift for my children, far above anything I could ever give them myself.

When I think of what I would want to give my sons, if I had all access to unlimited resources, I would want to give them something that will help them to live a life of love, peace and joy. I would seek out something that will sustain them during horrible and painful times and speak hope and trust into their hearts even while they experienced heartache.

I yearn to give them a resource that will help them after they go out into the world on their own and no longer ask for help from their parents. A resource that will instruct their choices in life, will aid them in conflict and when facing injustice.

Something that will inform their perception of themselves during success and failure.

Because I love them and strive to equip them for the dangerous and confusing world we live in, I want to give them a gift that will be a source of wisdom that will never change over time. That gift is the Spirit of Christ, something I cannot give them myself.

Yet it is beyond marvellous that I know there is such an immense gift out there for my children to inherit. It’s marvellous that we can have access to such a resource that is truly the only thing we need to go through life. It is such an incredible treasure to be equipped to face every circumstance: hardship, success, conflict, sin, heartache, loss, and death.

What ever could I give my children that would be anything in comparison to that? Truly, it is the key to life. Christ is the Key to my own life, my children’s, and everyone’s. The Gospel is the buried treasure worth sacrificing everything we have in order to get our hands on (Matt.

13:44-46).

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe,” writes Tim Keller, “yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

If we really understood the Gospel, it would change our lives and what we prioritize. It would change the way we treat people. It would change the way we look at sin and how we experience suffering.

The Gospel is so utterly wondrous and revolutionary to life, it’s a wonder those who understand it aren’t at a constant simmer of praise and adulation. Indeed, isn’t that what it will be like once we know in full? Glory!

I do know that all my best efforts to teach the Gospel to my own children may not result in their acceptance of this greatest gift. Yet being reminded of how great God is and how wondrous the Gospel, it renews my zeal to introduce everyone I know to the Key of life. The Gospel, it’ll change your life!

Column • stewardship today

Having a will: communication is key

A

by Kevin Davidson DESIGNPICS

will is your last communication with your family. Many of us are uncomfortable planning for our death, but the chaos, confusion, and potential for conflict in families where there is no will should offset your discomfort.

A properly written will explain how you want your assets distributed, but it is equally important to explain why. The best way to communicate your intentions is to have a conversation with your family explaining your priorities.

Even American billionaire and philanthropist Warren Buffet agrees. “Once the kids are of a certain age, they should be participants in the will. Your children are going to read the will someday. It’s crazy for them to read it after you’re dead for the first time. You’re not in a position to answer questions” (Globe and Mail, May 19, 2013).

There are many sad examples of what happens when this face-to-face conversation doesn’t happen and the details are left to the secrecy of a will. “Ken” didn’t have much of a relationship with his father after his parents divorced. His father moved away and remarried.

He later notified Ken that he had been named as executor. When his father passed, Ken dutifully fulfilled his role as executor.

Several years later Ken, to his surprise, received a call saying his stepmom had dementia and he was her representative for all health care decisions. Ken is currently making health care and final decisions for a woman he hardly knows and with whom he had never had a relationship. The stepmom is estranged from her children and she didn’t prepare a will. When she dies, her estate will go to her next of kin.

Ken regrets not having a conversation with his father and stepmom to clarify both the how and why of their intentions.

Creating a plan is just an important first step. We need to communicate that plan to all stakeholders, too. Your Executor and your Representative for Incapacity or Power of Attorney have a significant responsibility, and you owe it to your loved ones to include them in your

planning. MFC Consultants often hear from people who wish they had been more involved in those important decisions.

“John” updated his will and incapacity documents naming his son as executor and his sister as representative for incapacity. In his will John planned to give his house to a son, the cottage to a daughter, and the remaining cash to his grandchildren.

Then John was diagnosed with dementia, his sister stepped into her role and eventually felt it was best to sell the house and to have the proceeds deposited into John’s bank account.

After John passed, his son assumed his role as executor and soon realized the disappointing situation. A daughter received the cottage, the grandchildren received the cash, but the son received nothing. John’s intentions had never been communicated.

In both scenarios, communication and discussion may have helped the family carry out the wishes of the deceased. The size of your assets is not significant. If you have something to give away at death, you have wealth. This process can be intimidating, but MFC can assist you along this journey.

The best way to communicate your intentions is to have a conversation with your family explaining your priorities.

Kevin Davidson is a stewardship consultant at Mennonite Foundation of Canada serving generous people in Alberta. For more information on generosity, stewardship education, and estate and charitable gift planning, contact your nearest MFC office or visit MennoFoundation.ca.

www.emconference.ca/messenger • The Messenger 35

Column • kids’ corner

Some things are better together

T Many stories in the Bible show how people are better together.

DESIGNPICS

by Loreena Thiessen

o fill a pail with sand you need a shovel. Cereal is better with milk. So are cookies. A birthday cake needs candles to blow out. A kite without wind is no good. Without bees there would be no honey.

Clouds need the sun to make a shadow.

You can think of many more things that are better together. Goslings need the goose and gander to protect them.

Goslings find shelter under their wings, and they chase anyone who comes too close. Goslings learn from the parent goose where to find food.

Plants need the sun to grow. Sunlight begins the production of food for the plant. By feeding itself it can produce fruit, like apples, and roots, like carrots, for your snack.

Many stories in the Bible show how people are better together. Together Ruth and Naomi went to Bethlehem. Here Ruth met Boaz.

Together they became the great grandparents of King David.

Activity: From Bible stories you know match the people who belong together.

David Moses Miriam James Mary Joseph Ruth Jacob

36 The Messenger • August 2015

Martha Naomi Mary Jonathan Esau Moses John Aaron

Joseph forgave his brothers and provided them and their father with food and shelter in a time of famine. They were better together.

Moses was cared for by his own mother after she almost lost him. They were better together too.

Zacchaeus needed to see Jesus but was too short in the crowd. He climbed a tree and Jesus saw him. Jesus knew Zacchaeus needed him and invited himself to his house.

Jesus’ disciples needed him too. While riding on a boat a fierce storm came up. They were very afraid. Jesus knew they needed him and he calmed the storm. The disciples were amazed.

They knew they were better with Jesus.

Jesus changed their thoughts and their actions. With Jesus Zacchaeus paid back the money that was not his and began to follow him. The disciples left their fishing nets. As they walked with Jesus they watched him heal the sick. He changed people to begin a better life.

They began to tell others the good news.

When you decide to follow Jesus he shows you a new way to act and think. You become new. Read Ephesians 4: 24-32.

The Messenger Evangelical Mennonite Conference 440 Main St., Steinbach, MB R5G 1Z5 Publications Mail Agreement #40017362