Letters to the editor

Mennonite Brethren Herald welcomes your letters on issues relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church, especially in response to material published in the Herald. Please keep your letters courteous, brief and about one subject only. We will edit letters for length and clarity. We will not publish letters sent anonymously, although we may withhold names from publication at the request of the letter writer and at our discretion. Publication is also subject to space limitations. Because the Letters column is a free forum for discussion, it should be understood that letters represent the position of the letter writer, not necessarily the position of the Herald or the Mennonite Brethren Church. Send letters to: Letters, MB Herald 1310 Taylor Ave. Winnipeg, Man.  R3M 3Z6 or send via e-mail. (Please ensure that your postal address is included in your e-mail correspondence.)

Look for heart of film

Paul H. Boge’s review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Dec. 6) never gives a sense of what the film is actually about, just a listing of all the objectionable material in the film. There is no discussion of the film’s story – what is at the heart of the film – a hero using all of his limited resources, courage and determination to help out those he loves. Sounds like a pretty positive message to me.

While I agree that some films are unsuitable for people at a certain age, I also think that Christians reach a point of maturity where they can look past objectionable material and see what is at the heart of a film. When we only look for the details – how many “swears” there are, how many times a character smokes, how many times a character drinks – then we miss out on what the film as a whole has to offer. All film must be looked at first as a piece of art. What does art do? It changes us; it causes us to look at our world and ourselves anew; it moves us. If we look at statistics first, we do not appreciate the lasting beauty of Michelangelo’s “David” or the raw power of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”. I have seen plenty of films free of “objectionable content”, but at their heart they have a message that is petty and destructive. The opposite is also true: A filmmaker may give us characters riddled with problems to show us the power of friendship or to encourage us to live life to its fullest. If we look at the statistics of objectionable content, we may find ourselves not able to look at certain chapters of Song of Songs or C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.

Stephen Kent,
Edmonton, Alta.

Article right on

Thank you for Bryan and Teresa Born’s “Taking a tribal worldview seriously” (Dec. 27). Having served for 35 years in a country outside North America, I found myself saying an emphatic “yes” all the way through.

One further comment: Since Satan has such a well organized army of demons under his command (Ephesians 6:12) and since he is extremely wily, is it too much to believe that he would assign a commander with a battalion of troops to defend any one of his specific strongholds (territories in the broader sense)?

Viola Escobar,
Burnaby, B.C.

Pastors are needed

I was saddened by Van Robison’s letter “No need for pastors” (Nov. 15).

When I was 10–12, my family was part of a church which also had a school and college. Even though this church claimed to be “Baptist”, it became more like a cult, making its members believe they were the only “true church” and making outrageous financial demands which left many with hardly enough to live on, while the pastor lived in luxury. The extent of the corruption was eventually discovered and many families left the church, hurt and disillusioned. This experience taught many of us to not have our eyes on “man”, but on God and His Word.

The New Testament gives us God’s plan for the local church, with a pastor and lay leaders to guide it (1 Timothy 3; 2:7). Many people have had very negative experiences with “institutional Christianity”; however, we should not give up on churches and pastors in general because of this. To do so is to give in to the temptation to be bitter, and therefore not be as effective as we could be in our walk; this goes against God’s desire for His people. Many Christians choose not to be part of a local church, but Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. The New Testament church met house to house, but they were still a church! The Lord wants us to be discerning. We need to carefully “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1) to see whether or not a pastor is leading according to the Scriptures. We also need to realize that pastors and church leaders are human and sometimes make mistakes. If leaders are godly and humble, they won’t have a problem with being questioned about a mistake and being accountable as brothers and sisters in Christ. Our pastors need continual prayer and encouragement to help them carry out their responsibilities as leaders of the local church.

As for the need to be “bottle-fed”, the Bible encourages us to mature as believers. In larger churches, it’s easier to have various groups to meet the different spiritual needs, but in a smaller congregation this is not always possible. In this case, more mature believers need to be patient during the times the pastor is preaching a simplified message directed at non-believers or new Christians. Though it may seem like you’ve heard it a million times before, God’s Word is always relevant to us in some way, if nothing else to help us in teaching others. If we are mature believers, then we will want what is beneficial to the body of Christ as a whole. We are always free to study more deeply on our own or with others of similar maturity; even better, why not lead a Bible study and use the knowledge God has given us to help disciple new Christians? The pastor can’t “do it all”.

“Pastor” means shepherd, and the Bible says we are all “like sheep who have gone astray”: We need pastors! I’m so thankful for the “simple, humble, Spirit-filled” pastors in our church. They are ordinary human beings seeking to equip us to reach people for the kingdom. Let’s get behind these men and women, and encourage and pray for them continually!

Yvonne McIsaac,
Kelowna, B.C.

Keep end times teaching

Where do we get our various views from? Do we not have the same Holy Spirit? We need to depend on God and His written Word. Why not accept it literally? The prophecies re Christ’s coming as a child were literally fulfilled, and all end time prophecies will literally take place.

Henry Klassen is correct (Letters, Dec. 6) that Matthew 24:29–30 refers to Christ’s second coming, immediately after the tribulation period of seven years. It is at this time that Matthew 24:40–42 takes place, not the Rapture. Where two will be together, one will be taken and the other left; verse 39 says some were taken into judgement (the flood); in the next verse Jesus says this is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man – one will be taken (into judgement) and the other will be left to enter the millennium.

Matthew 24 has no reference to the church; it is strictly Jewish. Chapter 25 also refers to 10 bridesmaids, not the bride. God has two distinct plans, one for His body, the church, and the other for His chosen Israel. Many people believe Ephesians 2:15 changes that to one plan, but there is a very distinct difference into all eternity.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:52 refer to the trumpet call for the church. Revelation 11:15 and on refer to the last judgement trumpet. Those are different trumpets. The church has judged herself, so will not go through the seven-year tribulation judgement. The rapture will occur anytime now, then a seven-year tribulation, then 1000 years of Christ’s Kingdom on earth.

Should we omit end times teaching? That is exactly what the devil wants us to do; he does not want people to read about his future doom, so he scatters different views into Christians’ understanding, so the ministers remain quiet.

My grandchildren asked me two years ago to send them my end time Bible studies, then many others asked to be included. These are now on my website.

Jake Reimer,
Port Rowan, Ont.

Time to wage peace

“Christians should be actively waging peace. This means working to prevent conflict and war, engaging in effective resistance to evil through non-violent means, working to eliminate structural causes of chaos, violence and war, electing leaders who value and know how to broker peaceful resolutions to conflict, praying . . .

The bigger question for Christians and our institutions and denominations is: “What have we done lately to bring peace in our world?’ ” (Sandra Elgersma and Peter Vander Meulen “What Does it Mean to Follow the Prince of Peace?” The Advocate, December 2002.)

It has become clear in recent weeks that the mainstream media are in the business of supporting war. They are giving little or no coverage to peace demonstrations and petitions or the polls demonstrating that the majority of citizens in the US oppose a war in Iraq.

Given that, it is incumbent on the Christian press to make up for the omissions of the mainstream press. I understand that the Herald is a denominational paper, largely concerned with internal affairs: church and conference news, MCC releases, a little information from the wider evangelical community, and some evangelistic material. However, I believe that the current circumstances call for a change in policy, for more attention to the peacemaking activities of the broader church and the unreported news of secular peace activists. Possibly we should have some carefully selected basic information about the validity of the claims of the warmongers.

I realize that we are between conventions, when a more thorough discussion of these matters could take place, but I have been aware for some time that the Herald is inwardly focused in a way that seems unhealthy. In a democracy citizens have a responsibility to be well-informed; so church publications have a responsibility to contribute to the accuracy and balance of the information available to their readers.

If we have to start with an issue on politics and religion, so be it. It would be refreshing to have a discussion on something more than worship styles or the validity of a book review.

The Advocate published the following list of websites:

• The Mennonite Church’s Peace Pledge
• Sojourners
• Just war

Donna Stewart,
North Vancouver, B.C.

Applause a form of praise to God

Re Herta J. Voth’s letter (Dec. 6). Change is always with us, but the prime purpose in attending services is to give God praise and thanks and share with fellow believers, while always listening for food for thought and direction from the Word. I have never heard any reason for why applause is given for musical items, drama, etc. These are not a performance, as in a secular concert, but messages to be received as from God. If applause is a preferred substitute for “Amen” or “Praise God” and is a sign of agreement with what has been heard, then that may be acceptable to the Almighty. 1 Corinthians 4:5 applies here: “Each one’s praise will come from God.”

My wife and I are of the old set, and we do not applaud. Perhaps it is one of those things that is a personal preference and should not be made too much of when there are so many other facets of worship that are vital. We are more concerned that the Scripture should be read and corporate prayer offered. We all need to remind ourselves that we are not in the judging business.

Fred H. Bryant,
Chilliwack, B.C.

Need to broaden focus

I am informed that there has been a change in the mandate of the Herald to focus primarily on the MB experience. I question the wisdom of such a mandate. If I am only to drink from the fountain of one denomination, I will in time experience a personal crisis brought on by the inability of any one denomination to offer all that God has for me in Christ. Let’s affirm things that are MB. If the things we do as MBs have the freshness of heaven upon them, that is great. But if the things we do are without the fragrance of heaven, will we be so foolish as to continue to affirm them? Surely, MBs do not have a corner on the grace of God. A survey of MB churches would show that the sources of their Christian reading, teaching and music are both MB and many different Christian traditions. Should we never speak of Spurgeon, the Wesleys, Hudson Taylor, David Brainard, Augustine, St. Francis, Thomas à Kempis, Luther or the Puritans? Then why do we invite preachers from other Christian traditions to speak from our pulpits? The truth is that those who are MB drink from many different Christian traditions. We need to be open to hearing from all who hear from God.

Nils Langhjelm,
Chilliwack, B.C.