Viewpoint: Theological
Are MBs experiencing theological drift?
When new members and pastors join the denomination
Roughly half the pastors and leaders within Canadian Mennonite Brethren churches are coming to these positions without MB training or previous denominational exposure. Some members express alarm over this statistic. They’re concerned that MB roots will be forgotten. Worse, they say, our theology will be watered down, bit by bit, until we’re hardly recognizable as a distinct denomination. The more MB churches proliferate, the more acute the ratio becomes, they say – so we must correct this pattern.
But how, and to what extent? Do we require all pastors to earn a degree from an MB seminary? It’s not realistic.
Some indigenous MB pastors have, for economic or other reasons, trained at a seminary outside our denomination. Some pastors with non-MB backgrounds or training came to their positions because they were attracted to what we do – the nature and practice of our denomination. Other pastors were called by local churches whose committees didn’t require a seminary degree at all.
Since these leaders came to serve in such a variety of ways, I find myself taking a broader view. I believe it’s the whole church, not just the professional clergy, we should be looking at, even though leadership issues are important. It is, after all, out of the whole church’s life that we call, encourage, and support our pastors and paid workers.
The pastoral statistics are simply a reflection of what’s happening in the larger church. I believe the high number of new MBs in Canada is a wonderful thing! It means there’s value in what we do as a denomination. In many cases, it means we’re fulfilling part of the Great Commission and bringing people to Christ. It means that even trained pastors and mature Christians want to serve as part of this group.
I came to Christ in another denomination. Through a variety of circumstances, my wife and I found a wonderful MB church home when we moved to B.C.’s Fraser Valley 23 years ago. I’m a staunch and appreciative Mennonite Brethren, “grafted in,” as some newbies say. The more I see of our denomination, the more I appreciate it and thank God for where he placed us.
Before we joined our church, we read about MB theology, traditions, and beliefs. We knew the MBs were “small-e” evangelicals, and we liked the theology. But to be truthful, it was the local church, its wonderful people, its leadership, its very style of being Christian that we found attractive.
We got involved in church life. And the more we became active – the more we were exposed to MB theology and traditions in action – the more we appreciated the denominational richness that’s inherent in MB life, including the roots and history. The past informs and shapes our present and imparts the things we value as Mennonite Brethren, grounded in a 500-year-old story. We have many amazing accomplishments and successes, but also some mistakes – like any group of human beings. Together it forms what is called our “institutional memory.”
But as I spent more time in the MB denomination, I realized that those raised in the church didn’t necessarily take time to consider their heritage. A pastor friend of mine admits, “I have an ethnic Mennonite identity. I grew up in the church. But the theology meant little to me until well into adulthood.” He got his degree, but not in an MB school. Only in his middle age has he come to appreciate the theology that critics worry is being watered down.
So, are new MBs more or less likely to water things down and change these beliefs? I would argue that it’s those who grew up in the denomination who pose the greater risk. When you’re new, you study things. You’re more aware. You examine the whole package and decide whether it’s something you like. When you grow up in a particular environment, on the other hand, it’s easy to take much of it for granted.
New MBs bring change, but some change is usually a good thing for an institution. “Grafted in” MBs bring vitality and increasing depth to who we are. The denomination itself has gone through amazing change in the last 50 years. For example, I love the proliferation of church plants, especially in B.C., that are multi-ethnic. No organization, including churches, can long survive without changing and adapting. Perhaps fresh winds of change affect how we train pastors and leaders, too.
B.C.’s ACTS seminary is a case in point. The denominations associated with the school, including Mennonite Brethren, offer core courses for their students in order to teach the distinctive theology and practice that each treasure. Then students have the opportunity to interact with other viewpoints and traditions in general courses.
It’s administratively challenging, says B.C. conference minister Steve Berg, but absolutely worth the effort. It’s a wonderful way to teach not only our distinctive qualities, but an opportunity for leaders in the whole body of Christ to learn cooperation, discussion, and greater appreciation for others. “It seeds the right kinds of attitudes,” he says. Berg argues the day is past when we want a narrow denominational view. This is a day of working together in ministry, he says, so there is a need to orient and train our leaders to appreciate the broad picture.
There’s also a need to expose our leaders – especially those who didn’t go to MB or Anabaptist schools – to Mennonite Brethren theology and history.
And that’s what the Pastors’ Credentialing and Orientation (PCO) course is all about – it’s mandatory for all new pastors, in order for leaders to have a certain amount of shared understanding and common language. Many who attended the 2008 PCO came away with an enthusiastic appreciation of their Mennonite Brethren home. “I understand so much more about my church now,” was a typical comment.
Randy Friesen, executive director of MBMSI, recently commented on the cross-denominational patterns that are now common in the mission field. He said you first have to know who you are to really make a contribution when you work with others.
And B.C. Church Planting director Gord Fleming says he has a lineup of people from other denominations who see what MBs are doing to actively expand our ministry. They want to be part of it. Does this water us down? No! It affirms our direction and adds to the richness we can bring to well-founded expertise and our sense of mission. We change – but from a position of strength!
So perhaps we don’t need to wring our hands about the watering down of our denomination and its theology. Perhaps it really is on a firm foundation. Yes, there is change. But we still “hold fast to what [we] have,” because there’s always a human tendency to forget things and give in to expediency. We need to jealously guard what we have.
And for this, we are well-equipped. We are equipped because we hold the value of community, hold the value of God letting us know his will through his people, hold the beliefs we have in Scripture, hold the need never to stop seeking him, never to stop pursuing the mission he gives us. —BM
When new members and pastors join the denomination
Roughly half the pastors and leaders within Canadian Mennonite Brethren churches are coming to these positions without MB training or previous denominational exposure. Some members express alarm over this statistic. They’re concerned that MB roots will be forgotten. Worse, they say, our theology will be watered down, bit by bit, until we’re hardly recognizable as a distinct denomination. The more MB churches proliferate, the more acute the ratio becomes, they say – so we must correct this pattern.
But how, and to what extent? Do we require all pastors to earn a degree from an MB seminary? It’s not realistic.
Some indigenous MB pastors have, for economic or other reasons, trained at a seminary outside our denomination. Some pastors with non-MB backgrounds or training came to their positions because they were attracted to what we do – the nature and practice of our denomination. Other pastors were called by local churches whose committees didn’t require a seminary degree at all.
Since these leaders came to serve in such a variety of ways, I find myself taking a broader view. I believe it’s the whole church, not just the professional clergy, we should be looking at, even though leadership issues are important. It is, after all, out of the whole church’s life that we call, encourage, and support our pastors and paid workers.
The pastoral statistics are simply a reflection of what’s happening in the larger church. I believe the high number of new MBs in Canada is a wonderful thing! It means there’s value in what we do as a denomination. In many cases, it means we’re fulfilling part of the Great Commission and bringing people to Christ. It means that even trained pastors and mature Christians want to serve as part of this group.
I came to Christ in another denomination. Through a variety of circumstances, my wife and I found a wonderful MB church home when we moved to B.C.’s Fraser Valley 23 years ago. I’m a staunch and appreciative Mennonite Brethren, “grafted in,” as some newbies say. The more I see of our denomination, the more I appreciate it and thank God for where he placed us.
Before we joined our church, we read about MB theology, traditions, and beliefs. We knew the MBs were “small-e” evangelicals, and we liked the theology. But to be truthful, it was the local church, its wonderful people, its leadership, its very style of being Christian that we found attractive.
We got involved in church life. And the more we became active – the more we were exposed to MB theology and traditions in action – the more we appreciated the denominational richness that’s inherent in MB life, including the roots and history. The past informs and shapes our present and imparts the things we value as Mennonite Brethren, grounded in a 500-year-old story. We have many amazing accomplishments and successes, but also some mistakes – like any group of human beings. Together it forms what is called our “institutional memory.”
But as I spent more time in the MB denomination, I realized that those raised in the church didn’t necessarily take time to consider their heritage. A pastor friend of mine admits, “I have an ethnic Mennonite identity. I grew up in the church. But the theology meant little to me until well into adulthood.” He got his degree, but not in an MB school. Only in his middle age has he come to appreciate the theology that critics worry is being watered down.
So, are new MBs more or less likely to water things down and change these beliefs? I would argue that it’s those who grew up in the denomination who pose the greater risk. When you’re new, you study things. You’re more aware. You examine the whole package and decide whether it’s something you like. When you grow up in a particular environment, on the other hand, it’s easy to take much of it for granted.
New MBs bring change, but some change is usually a good thing for an institution. “Grafted in” MBs bring vitality and increasing depth to who we are. The denomination itself has gone through amazing change in the last 50 years. For example, I love the proliferation of church plants, especially in B.C., that are multi-ethnic. No organization, including churches, can long survive without changing and adapting. Perhaps fresh winds of change affect how we train pastors and leaders, too.
B.C.’s ACTS seminary is a case in point. The denominations associated with the school, including Mennonite Brethren, offer core courses for their students in order to teach the distinctive theology and practice that each treasure. Then students have the opportunity to interact with other viewpoints and traditions in general courses.
It’s administratively challenging, says B.C. conference minister Steve Berg, but absolutely worth the effort. It’s a wonderful way to teach not only our distinctive qualities, but an opportunity for leaders in the whole body of Christ to learn cooperation, discussion, and greater appreciation for others. “It seeds the right kinds of attitudes,” he says. Berg argues the day is past when we want a narrow denominational view. This is a day of working together in ministry, he says, so there is a need to orient and train our leaders to appreciate the broad picture.
There’s also a need to expose our leaders – especially those who didn’t go to MB or Anabaptist schools – to Mennonite Brethren theology and history.
And that’s what the Pastors’ Credentialing and Orientation (PCO) course is all about – it’s mandatory for all new pastors, in order for leaders to have a certain amount of shared understanding and common language. Many who attended the 2008 PCO came away with an enthusiastic appreciation of their Mennonite Brethren home. “I understand so much more about my church now,” was a typical comment.
Randy Friesen, executive director of MBMSI, recently commented on the cross-denominational patterns that are now common in the mission field. He said you first have to know who you are to really make a contribution when you work with others.
And B.C. Church Planting director Gord Fleming says he has a lineup of people from other denominations who see what MBs are doing to actively expand our ministry. They want to be part of it. Does this water us down? No! It affirms our direction and adds to the richness we can bring to well-founded expertise and our sense of mission. We change – but from a position of strength!
So perhaps we don’t need to wring our hands about the watering down of our denomination and its theology. Perhaps it really is on a firm foundation. Yes, there is change. But we still “hold fast to what [we] have,” because there’s always a human tendency to forget things and give in to expediency. We need to jealously guard what we have.
And for this, we are well-equipped. We are equipped because we hold the value of community, hold the value of God letting us know his will through his people, hold the beliefs we have in Scripture, hold the need never to stop seeking him, never to stop pursuing the mission he gives us. —BM
