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.)

Let’s respond positively

Re the responses to “Singing in church” (Letters, Nov. 14, Dec. 26). I agree with Hilda Hildebrand that if we are singing in sincere praise to God it doesn’t matter if we sing choruses or hymns, harmony or unison. The critical nature of all the letters concerns me, however.

I am a worship leader in my church and I respond much better to positive feedback than negative. We all do, particularly our youth. Instead of dwelling on the things I don’t like about worship, I try to find the positive and commend the worship teams for those elements. I am more likely to repeat something for someone who has responded positively than give up something I like for someone who has criticized me. That’s just our nature.

The same approach would work with how people dress. Instead of grumbling about what you feel is inappropriate, try complimenting when their dress is what you feel is appropriate. A simple “I like what you have on today” is probably the best approach. Peter Neufeld (Letters, Dec. 26) proves my point. Even though he has “always been opposed to women preachers,” because Mary Pauls and Dorothy Jean Jantzen share his view he is willing to change that opinion for them.

I can only control what I do and say (or wear) while I am here on earth. Things will be a lot easier when we get to heaven and we are all perfect!

Nancy Boese,
St. Catharines, Ont.

Ordination is an affirmation

In response to “J.E. Toews urges rethinking ordination” (Dec. 5), while I am not insisting that our congregations begin, continue, or reinstate the practice of ordaining ministers and/or deacons – there are arguments for and against the practice – at the same time, I do believe that, contrary to what the article suggests, the MB Church has never seen ordination as “a transfer of power, authority and charisma”, or a “transfer” of anything for that matter. (The only possible exception may have been the second ordination of those who served as elders in the early MB Church.) The ordination services I have been at, even though there was a laying on of hands and the term was indefinite, and even though it was understood that in general baptism and communion would be administered by those who had been ordained, it was exactly what the author says it should be: an affirmation for service in the church and a confirmation of gifts that already existed.

In fact, the MB Church has a history of ambivalence on the question of ordination. My now aged father who preached and pastored in the MB Church for many decades was never actually ordained. When my parents moved to Yarrow, B.C. in 1942 and my father began teaching in Elim Bible School, John A. Harder, the leader of the local church and a leader in the MB Conference, suggested that since my parents had been commissioned for missionary service in Africa in 1937, and since my father’s preaching had been well received in the churches upon their return from Africa, no “ordination” as such was necessary. The suggestion was well received.

In another example, one of my uncles led a rural church and also preached for many years without ever being ordained, either as a minister or as a deacon.

I would suggest that the purpose of ordination as practised in our church in the past was to affirm those who were gifted and already serving as preachers or caregivers. Certainly those who were ordained may have exercised some “power, authority, and charisma” by virtue of their ordination, but many unordained leaders likewise exercised those qualities. Whatever “power, authority and charisma” existed was “transferred” when a new person assumed a church office or when a new pastor came to a church.

Ed Lenzmann,
Winnipeg, Man.

Disposable pastors

I was visiting a church recently and noticed in the annual report, the pastor was resigning because of a dispute at the leadership level with some wanting him to leave. Sadly, this has happened too frequently in our churches in the last decades. Some time ago our church was facing financial difficulty and we approached our provincial conference for ideas and suggestions. Here, too, was a sentiment among some that pastors are expendable and maybe we should consider replacing him.

If we view ministry in terms of spiritual warfare, I believe we are letting the enemy win. When a pastor leaves, all other spiritual work is set aside, and priority is given to a pastoral search committee, visioning, demographic studies, interviewing, etc. By the time a pastor is hired, 12 to 24 months have passed. The new pastor now needs another 18 to 24 months to settle in, put his stamp on the new vision, and get the team to start moving forward. Satan has effectively put that church out of scoring range for 3 to 4 years. And the average “call” in our Conference is how long? About 3 to 4 years?

Our Conference needs to rethink its approach to supporting spiritual leadership. Having Conference ministers is a good start, however a pastor should not fear career suicide by going to the Conference for help, nor should it be viewed as failure. If the Conference assists a church in trouble, is siding with the “majority” necessarily the best approach? If the pastor leaves because of leadership disputes, the issue is still not resolved and frequently the dissenters leave also. We have a shortage of pastors and jail time for speaking politically incorrect truth may not be far away. Are we doing everything we can to score the winning goals?

In the local church community, mature Christian leaders need to band together with the pastor and stop dissension immediately. If confession isn’t forthcoming, we need to drive the instigators out of the church. We should warn other local churches of potential troublemakers. Christians should either support the spiritual work or get out of the way and join the coffee klatch at the local arena or flea market.

Name withheld by request.

Another view of worship

Re “Singing in church” (Letters, Nov. 14) and “Today’s music is different” (Letters, Dec. 26). Worship is more than just music. Unfortunately, often people equate music with worship. As a result, there are a lot of inaccurate notions about worship. Music can be a very effective communicative tool for worship, if used properly. We must recognize the value of different styles of music.

As a church we do not put enough emphasis and enough care into selecting music for our worship. People in charge of our worship music sometimes have neither theological or musical training. This is dangerous! Especially nowadays when we use quite a large portion of our Sunday’s worship time in music.

The following questions could be asked: Who is in charge of picking the music for Sunday worship? Is that person musically and theologically trained? Is the music sung examined carefully? Why can’t the congregation sing together if we claim to be one body in Christ?

Herbert Tsang,
Port Moody, B.C.

Another view

I believe homosexuals should have the right to marry.

1. There is evidence that biblical writers considered it possible for a man to have more than one wife. In 1 Timothy 3:2, Paul says that a deacon should be the husband of but one wife.
2. God blessed polygamous marriages. An angel of the Lord blessed Abram’s maidservant Hagar saying her descendants would increase. Concerns about how a same-sex marital structure is detrimental to children have been expressed. Aren’t polygamous relationships detrimental? If God blesses polygamous relationships, who are we to take these blessings away from same-sex couples?
3. When does imposing Christian ideals on society become discrimination? In 1911 the British government declared all non-Christian marriages illegal. I wonder if many Christians today think that’s a good thing. Most of the reasons that I hear for why same-sex marriages should be disallowed could be said about non-Christian marriages. It’s not good for the children. It makes marriage into something cheap.
4. What would Jesus do? I cannot picture Jesus going to a rally against same-sex marriage. In fact He might say, “Let him without sin cast the first stone.”
5. Fear. Many Christians are worried about the future if they allow same-sex marriages to be legalized. Will a pastor go to jail for refusing to marry same-sex couples? Will a church be shut down for being thought discriminatory towards homosexuals? If fear of the future is motivating Christians to rally against same-sex marriages, I think it’s wise to reconsider. Christianity has always flourished under persecution and martyrdom.
6. Become friends with someone who is gay and then reevaluate your stance.
7. Ask God if there are any ways that you’ve discriminated against gays.

These are trying times for Christians. While I do believe many Christians have a heart for homosexuals, I also know that there are many Christians with a lot of frustration and anger in their hearts. Hopefully this letter will help heal those hearts and decrease discrimination.

Steve Martens,
Winnipeg, Man.