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.)

In defence of Dr. Dobson

I couldn’t decide whether to be angry or to simply laugh at “Getting It Right”, (Editorial, May 23). I came to the only conclusion that Coggins hadn’t made the effort to research Dobson’s work before writing his piece. Had he done so, he would have learned that the insights he came up with are the very cornerstone beliefs of Dobson and the entire Focus on the Family ministry. Children and parents are human, and born with a sinful nature. The idea that both parents and children are in need of God’s grace is not new – it’s taken straight from the pages of Dr. Dobson’s book Parenting Isn’t For Cowards and any other Christian parenting resource on the market today!

Coggins also implied that Dobson’s “laws of parenting” insinuate that if a child turns out badly then the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the parents. Parenting Isn’t For Cowards (chap. 5) indicates Dobson does not lay guilt on the parents for a wayward son or daughter.

James Dobson is the most humble, God-fearing man I have ever had the privilege of meeting, and I can assure you with confidence that he would be the first to tell you that his “rules of parenting” must go hand in hand with God’s message of love and grace.

Shari Lau,
Langley B.C.

Worthwhile conference

Stretching, stimulating, challenging and humbling are words I would use to describe my first experience in attending one of our study conferences (“Rite and Pilgrimage: Baptism and Church Membership”). A sincere thank you to the organizers, to CMU who hosted us and my brothers and sisters in the faith who showed me that we can “agree to disagree” without rancour.

Claude Pratte,
Portage Avenue MB Church,
Winnipeg, Man.

Living letters

I have been noticing an increase in letters to the editor which affirm the MB position on war. Such letters have increased, since the US overthrew the government of Iraq.

This may be a safe way to vent ones frustration at witnessing horrific world events. I doubt that all our rhetoric against war brings about change for the good.

Living letters are what Paul said the church is to be, known and read by all men, as we give a living demonstration to what we say we believe.

What should be known and read by all regarding the people of God is our being a living example of living out God’s peace in our relationships. The place to start is with our relationships in the church, seeking to live in harmony with those who love Christ.

Paul was a murderer when he met Christ. The rest of his life was a demonstration of being a peacemaker.

If God could make Paul a man of peace, then there is hope for all of us. The rhetoric of peace must be lived out on a daily basis or it remains only rhetoric.

There is passion for the rhetoric of peace among MBs, but it appears that in many churches, the desire to live in peace with one another is on the decline. When our relationships need repairing, let’s not wait years to talk but make an effort to mend what needs mending in a timely way.

Nils Langhjelm,
Yarrow, B.C.

Editorial appreciated

“Getting It Right” (Editorial, May 23) was very good. I appreciated the tenor of the piece and also the way you interacted with Dobson’s approach.

(I am not just writing this comment as an academic theologian. I have 14 and 11-year-old daughters.)

Mark D. Baker,
MB Biblical Seminary,
Fresno, Calif.

Editorial right on

Enjoyed your recent editorial on parenting. You mentioned something about humour in the opening sentences. Well, this sentence made me laugh out loud: “Before we had children, I was confident that I would be a very good parent.” Yup. (Our children are 20, 17 and 14.) Thanks for your message of grace and dependence.

Lis Trouten,
Evangelical Press Association,
Minneapolis, Minn.

More upbeat reporting

The MB Herald is a significant dimension of our total Christian ministry. Yesterday we received the issue containing the report of the Alberta MB Conference convention held March 21–23. We appreciate the report, but I was disappointed in the comments regarding Camp Evergreen. May I explain.

Somehow the note of optimism and enthusiasm portrayed in the report presented by the Camp commission and the director Rick Arkell were not even alluded to.

To set the record straight, Jake Doerksen did not indicate “The year ended with an accrued deficit of $90,000.” The reality of this surfaced through some comments on finances in one of the reports. The accrued deficit had been accumulated over several years of (negative balance) deficit operations. This needed to be corrected, which was done with a loan arrangement.

Furthermore, the thrust of the Camp Evergreen report was intended to be an expression of appreciation to the staff, past and present at Camp Evergreen; an expression of gratitude to God for the blessings through the ministry of Camp Evergreen; a projection into the future, focusing on the tremendous opportunities of ministry and possibilities of development.

Camp Evergreen has experienced a major upgrading of facilities, including a new washroom facility targeted for completion by early July. We are grateful for the prospect of continued ministry and blessing through the enthusiastic services of committed staff, which God is supplying.

I feel the ministry of Camp Evergreen merits much more upbeat reporting and enthusiastic promotion than was evident in the report. We feel the ministry of Camp Evergreen is a vital link in our ministry of outreach and Christian encouragement and enrichment. There are times when I feel no press is better than poor press.

Jake Doerksen,
Gem, Alta.

Expecting God to act

I agree with the writer of “Worship and performance blur” (Letters, May 23). At least on this point: God is impressed with the heart and not so much with the “outward expressions”. Why then was the article so focused on outward expressions? In worship, when my heart is bursting in praise to God, then so too is my physical being.

It is not mine to judge how anyone responds to the voice or presence of God. We often quote the prophet Isaiah, as the letter quoted chapter 29. But should someone in our day proclaim to be a prophet of God and go about naked for three years like Isaiah did 9 chapters earlier, I would begin to have my suspicions about them. And my suspicions would make his response no less valid.

I am grateful for the diversity in worship in the MB community. Yet in all the varied church experiences I have witnessed, I have yet to see anything that astonishes me like the written Word of God. When Saul encounters the prophets on his way to kill David, he strips down and joins them. When Jesus heals the blind, He spits on the ground to make mud and applies the vile ointment, restoring his sight. The disciples of Jesus who were the most persecuted and downtrodden were somehow the most enthusiastic (note that this word derives its meaning from being “full of God”). It is as though from God the only thing I can expect is the unexpected!

My applause in church is based not on the performance of man but of God. Perhaps we don’t expect Him to perform anymore. When was the last time we asked Him to? The disciples did. Acts 4 says, “They raised their voices together” saying “Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Sunday school taught me God is changeless. When did He decide to stop performing? Was it about the time we stopped expecting Him to? How did it affect our worship when He actually did?

David Makaroff,
Abbotsford, B.C.