An interview with the conference moderator

Jascha Boge of Winnipeg was elected moderator of the Canadian MB Conference at Gathering 2006. He is an engineer and owns a construction company together with his oldest son. Boge also served as moderator for two terms earlier, 2000–2004.

He recently spoke with associate editor Dora Dueck about being back, what he’s seeing in the conference, and some of the tasks ahead.

DD: One piece of advice you gave incoming moderator Willy Reimer in 2004 was, “Be yourself. Be the person God made you.” Who’s the person God made you and what gifts are you bringing to the conference at this time?

JB: I’m a very happily married family man. Hildi and I are really blessed, with six children – all married – and seven grandchildren. We’re new empty nesters, re-discovering each other.

I’m an engineer, so I have a tendency to be somewhat black and white in my outlook. I’m quite decisive after I feel I have sufficient information to make a decision. I’m also a big picture person.

It’s been observed that people in business sometimes find the church reluctant to accept their gifts. Have you experienced any tensions between the worlds of business and church?

There are no tensions for me whatsoever in that regard. I believe God has given different gifts to all of his children, and among those are gifts unique to business people. I’ve always felt very welcomed and really affirmed in conference work.

One of the chief legacies of your last round in the role was the new governance structure, whereby an executive board oversees and strategizes, instead of manages programs. Now you’ve just had your first executive board meetings in this model [Oct. 27–28].

It was very interesting to see how that structure developed in the past two years. Two years is a long time but this is very new for our conference and a lot of time has been spent in figuring out the details of how it should work. We’re still somewhat slanted towards technical matters, but I couldn’t help but notice, when we made time for strategic planning, the degree of interest and excitement. We’ll dedicate much more time to strategic planning in the future.

We’re also the fiduciary of the conference. Perhaps the biggest reality that’s hitting the executive board is that we’re responsible for the entire finances of the conference and that includes the stewardship funds, now in the $140 million range. At this meeting we approved investment policies. That’s an important part of what executive boards do. They examine and approve policies.

In your view, is the conference in good health?

Yes, and I believe it’s poised to blossom. But I do have some concerns. We’re always concerned about young people, of course, being part of our church and continuing in it. But a recent phenomenon causing concern, which we discussed at the meetings, is our peer group – yours and mine [first wave of Baby Boomers]. Empty nesters.

The degree of commitment many of them have to the church is not as significant as it was before. They haven’t left the faith but they’ve kind of left the church. At the same time, many are looking to do something with what God has given them. But our denomination would not be their primary choice of where to use their talents and gifts. We have to figure out what will get them excited about us again.

“Regionalism” in its various meanings was a concern in discussions around governance structure in 2004. What are you seeing now?

Willy Reimer in his [moderator’s] report to the 2006 convention mentioned that national–provincial relationships was an agenda item for the new executive board. The executive director and team have been meeting with leaders in various provinces. The most important thing is that we be on the same page, be united for the sake of the people of Canada.

Any comments on the women in ministry leadership issue?

The women in ministry leadership question once again showed that the MB family takes a long time to deal with an issue where there will be strong opposing sides. We never process major items quickly. It’s one of our strong points. I don’t think people will ever fully appreciate the time and effort our Board of Faith and Life spent on this, [providing] opportunity to get all of our members involved if they so chose.

There will still be areas of concern, some questions and feedback, but the conference body spoke well to each other, respected each other, and dealt with a family issue in a family way under God’s guidance. We’ll move forward as one body – and 20, 25 years from now we’ll have another major issue that will face us.

Will it take that long?

[Laughter]

A period of rest is required now. We have to rebuild our family in all the positive things we do together, really strengthen that. But 25 years may be wishful thinking.

You’re very interested in the global church. Will your return to the moderator’s role reflect that?

I’m a big supporter of ICOMB [International Committee of Mennonite Brethren]. It needs a higher profile. This is an organization that’s still very fledgling but will eventually be the Mennonite Brethren face in the world. I’m glad we have a part-time director now, Victor Wall of Paraguay. We need to recognize the importance of ICOMB and do what we can to support it.

Church to church relations in mission is also very dear to my heart. There’s a greater recognition of our responsibility as church planting conferences that have spawned churches around the globe, evidenced by the fact that MBMSI support is gaining momentum again. Mission is one of our strong core values. So, to answer your question, it’s reasonable to asume that my interest in the global church will be brought up at the excutive board level.

Thank you.