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.)

Touching a raw nerve

Re “New age influence” (Letters, Sept. 23). I was intrigued by Lynda Magner’s identification of The Purpose Driven Life with New Age. In reading the book, I experienced the Lord’s tap on my inner person regarding some things He wants changed in me. I discovered copious quotes from Scripture and urgings to humble myself before God, to love Him wholeheartedly and to serve others in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This book has so obviously touched a raw nerve in our often purposeless society. Do I agree with everything the author says? No. Neither Rick Warren nor anyone else is writing the 67th book of the Bible. That remains the measuring stick for whatever else we hear, see and experience.

Alma Siemens,
Coaldale, Alta.

Learning from ancient Christians?

I was disturbed to read the unsubstantiated accusations Lynda F. Magner makes in her letter (Sept. 23) against the Renovaré conference. The only fault she seems to find with Renovaré is that it includes the writings of pre-Reformation Christians (“ancient mystics of the Catholic church,” as she puts it). Is she suggesting there were no true followers of Jesus prior to 1517? Even the Protestant reformers do not suggest this. There were godly Christian writers throughout the ages.

We impoverish ourselves spiritually if we mistakenly think that to be good Protestants we must learn nothing from Christians who pre-date that era. Just because we broke away from the medieval Catholic Church because of serious doctrinal issues doesn’t mean true Christianity disappeared after the 1st century and suddenly reappeared in the 16th century. There is much to be gained by being open to God’s work in Christians throughout the ages, not just those of our specific historic stream.

M. H. Friesen,
Winnipeg, Man.

Caring for our pastors

Re “Conference support lacking” (Letters, Sept. 2). I think the question of how our MB conference is caring for our shepherds is a crucial one. I know about a place of support and care for those in ministry called OASIS.

I myself am involved in OASIS, a five-day retreat specifically designed for pastors, spouses and missionaries. It is a place of rest, reflection, support and counselling. It is a place of healing. The desire at OASIS is to create a preventative ministry as the stressors and demands on pastoral leadership grow. In response to the question, “Do we truly care for our pastors?” the answer is, “Yes, we do care and yes, there is much more to do!”

Susan Anquist,
Abbotsford, B.C.

Helpful study

Thank you for the timely articles in the Oct. 14 issue. I had been reading in the book of Isaiah and getting frustrated with the violence portrayed page after page. Pierre Gilbert’s “The violence of God: investigations in the book of Isaiah,” has been very helpful in my study. I look forward to the “to be continued.” Thank you also to Maria Hankey for encouraging us to read the Bible for ourselves in “Down Illiteracy’s Path.”

Louise Froese,
Portage la Prairie, Man.

Many facets of God

Re “The Sunday morning shopping spree” (Aug. 12). Cara Paul’s article highlights the trend of shopping around for the best church. Though this may be the habit of 20-somethings, it is not an uncommon practice for other age groups as well. It is definitely the way of operating in our culture.

However, the wandering tendency is not just a modern day phenomenon. Even back in the sixth century, in the time of St. Benedict, monks would often roam from one monastery to another looking for the ideal situation. According to Joan Chittister, author of Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, the Benedictine vow of stability was designed “to still the wandering heart.”

Chittister says that “stability teaches that whatever the depth of the dullness of the difficulties around me, I can, if I will simply stay still enough of heart, find God there in the midst of them.” Mobility, on the other hand, limits the possibility of discovering all facets of a particular place or group of people. I wonder what our churches would look like if those among us who have the wandering tendency would resist mobility long enough to create a rhythm of life and discover the “many facets of God” in our setting.

Daphne Kamphuis,
Abbotsford, B.C.

Through thick and thin

Re “Church shopping” (Letters, Oct. 14). Church shopping is detrimental to the kind of community that strengthens individual faith. I don’t believe there is a biblical standard that marks church shopping as a “moral duty.” If you don’t know how to get involved in your church, start by praying for your leadership and pastoral team. Being part of a community means being there for the highs and lows, not running when conflict or poor teaching crop up. Community doesn’t grow if people come and go with no chance to significantly interact over time.

Kerry O’Brien,
Waterloo, Ont.

A call for gatekeepers

Paul Wartman (“What I’m reading,” Oct. 14) comments that negative reviews of Brian McLaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy illustrate an “alarming rise of evangelical gatekeeping.” But what’s wrong with gatekeeping? Surely we can have good discussions within the various streams of evangelicalism and within the wider Christian community about the size and structure of the gate, how the gate should look to those without and within its confines, to what degree and in what circumstances the gate should be opened or closed, etc. Surely our shepherds and conference leaders can disagree about the nature of evangelical gatekeeping while remaining committed to it as an essential part of leading the church. Does Wartman think we should abandon gatekeeping? That would truly be cause for alarm.

Myron Penner,
Abbotsford, B.C.

Is culture defining Scripture?

Re Board of Faith and Life resolution on women in ministry leadership (July 22). If Paul’s writing is the Lord’s command, then we can’t pick and choose what we want to believe and/or teach. We dare not “culturize” Scripture to suit the ideas of modern society, or we will find ourselves in a mess of hot water down the road.

What might this mess look like? We just have to look at what is happening in denominations and churches around the world that have gone the route of allowing culture to define Scripture. In the past 10–15 years a number of large denominations have deemed it acceptable to ordain women as lead pastors. Now, those denominations have been ripped apart by the claims of homosexual lobbyists, and news of turmoil and splits are legendary.

If we choose to “culturize” Scripture in our present discussion, the barn door is wide open, and any fundamental teaching of Scripture is free to escape, while heresy is free to enter. I’m calling on all Canadian MBs to pray for our conference leaders between now and Gathering 2006 as never before.

George Janzen,
Burnaby, B.C.

Leap of logic

I believe it is unbiblical for women in the church to have spiritual leadership over men, but not having great knowledge of Scripture, I asked my dad for his help. Some of his thoughts are as follows:

Both the Old Testament and New Testament recognize women as spiritually equal to men, but both are non-egalitarian in terms of the functions or roles that men and women assume.

If you examine Paul’s reasoning in the “restrictive” passages, you will not conclude that they are “selective,” as if Paul would agree that “in other communities, churches need to be free to assign women any role.” Paul’s argument involved the practice of all churches (1 Corinthians 14:33, 36), Mosaic Law (1 Corinthians 14:34) and creation order (1 Timothy 2:13, 14). These are not situational arguments.

As well, David Wiebe uses faulty reasoning in his article (“A different view of leadership,” July 22) and takes an unwarranted leap of logic: If the Holy Spirit gifts all, and all have equal access to participation in Christ; if the maturing church requires a team of elders to bring all to maturity; if the NT (and our experience) shows that Christian women have gifts related to leadership, then women can be pastors and even senior pastors. In this case, all the premises are granted, but the conclusion is erroneous because it contradicts Scripture. A comparable example would be: if God is omniscient and knows all our needs; if God is omnipotent and fully able to supply what we need; if God is benevolent and therefore glad to meet our needs, then we don’t have to bother praying and asking for anything. Again, the premises are correct but the conclusion is faulty because it is based on human logic.

Sarah Kamp,
Abbotsford, B.C.