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.)

Thanks

I would like you to know how much I appreciate the Herald. We keep it on our kitchen table and as I sit with my two-year-old munching cereal and my 2-month-old nursing in the morning, I pick up the latest Herald and drink it in along with my morning coffee. I find myself encouraged, uplifted and challenged to think as I head into my day. I may not always agree with what I’ve read, but it always starts a conversation or debate in my head with the author of whatever article or letter I’ve read that day that I carry with me as I wash dishes, change diapers and connect with my youth. I find myself interacting and thinking through what I believe, why I believe it and how I work out that belief. Many times what I’ve read colours a Bible study or discussion I have with the inner-city youth my husband and I work with; in fact, more than once I’ve read directly from the Herald to make a point, to challenge them and get them thinking. You have all become a part of my life and ministry. Thank you!

Gina Marie Root,
Regina, Sask.

Article relevant to all ages

Thank you so much for printing “The Curriculum is Changing”. Katie Funk Wiebe put into words what I have been struggling with, understanding and communication across generations. Though I am not the “target audience” for this article (I am in my mid 20s) I gained clarity about why the generations struggle so much to get along. This seems to be a problem in the church I now attend and the one in which I grew up. What is even more sad than the lack of communication and relationships across generations, is that there seems to be no way to talk about what is going on. I see this resulting in bitterness in both the younger and the older age groups. One group calls the other lazy, “they never want to get involved”, and the other group complains, “no one here makes an effort to get to know me”. I am very concerned about what is going to happen as this bitterness continues to build. Ultimately, it keeps us from unity and a house divided cannot stand.

Shawna Peters Penner,
Killarney, Man.

Regarding baptism and church membership

I am concerned that too much emphasis is placed upon the physical symbolism of what we do or do not do in our groups, rather than what Christ does for us as a result of our faith. Churches are prone to focus on what people do, rather than what Christ wants to do in us.

More importance needs to be placed upon the spiritual aspect referred to in Romans 6. The most important fact is that we are placed into membership in the body of Christ by God’s grace through faith. When we die to our sin we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit – born again. Why have churches placed more emphasis on membership within a local body of believers than in the body of Christ? Often people are simply asked if they believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. They are not questioned if they understand the death, burial and resurrection, or if they have died to self. Many churches refuse to hold people accountable to these questions. Holding people accountable to these issues is the difference between holding them captive to man’s symbolism or being set free in God’s grace.

If a person joins the Church he becomes a member of the Body of Christ by putting faith in Christ. Why do we expect people to join a local church and become members of the local body?

God decides who joins His church and not man by his symbolism. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Doctrinal issues are divisive and can misguide people. People have been taught that the symbolism we see in physical baptism provides them with something. Apart from faith, apart from abiding in the vine, apart from confession and repentance and regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the physical baptism is nothing more than a ritual. As people who profess to know Christ as our Saviour we must ask ourselves which is more important, Him baptizing us into the Body of Christ or man baptizing us into a local church. Are we walking by faith or by sight? Is it more important that God does what He wants to do with us spiritually or what we think people will think of us? If we say a few words in a baptism tank we may fool people, but we won’t fool God.

H. Dueck,
Calgary, Alta.

A prophetic reminder

Thanks to Olga Regehr for her prophetic word (Viewpoint, Aug. 1). The parable is a creative reminder for us as a denomination and as individual congregations to learn from our and Israel’s history. The Scriptures are replete with reminders; do not forget, remember, etc. Those reminders must also come from the local prophets/pastors/elders, but they seem not to be forthcoming with the force and frequency that we read those words in Scripture. With their silence, are they saying with the false prophets of Amos’s time (Amos 4:10) “Nothing bad will happen to us”? This withholding of God’s message is reflected graphically in the underfunding of our MB Conference ministries, eg. MBMS International, MB Biblical Seminary, MCC and other programs. In fact, we hear much of cutbacks in Conference programs, in spite of growing wealth. It is well recognized even by our own Conference leaders that we are far short of a tithe in our giving. When I read the MB Herald obituaries, I often wonder how much of our corporate wealth is transferred to Kingdom ministries, whether our own or to other legitimate charities. And to those of us who have written wills, how much wealth is being transferred to God and His interests? This is a subject I have never heard addressed in a congregation. To even discuss it privately, among Christians, is a no-no. Then I read in Habakkuk 2:9, “How terrible it will be for you who get rich by unjust means. You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your families beyond the reach of danger.” When we are hoarding money which belongs to God, we are stealing and cheating (Malachi 3:8–12). This is an immoral act.

There are stories in Scripture as well as in our past of people who did learn from history and behaved counter to the prevailing wisdom of never enough. Reading these would be an encouragement to us.

George Epp,
Chilliwack, B.C.