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Seeing ourselves more clearly
The March 2006 consultation in Macau on Anabaptist theology and leadership development can tell us much about the needs of the church in North America as well as in Asia. Members of the listening committee said they heard a call for a clear Anabaptist identity. Without it, churches don’t know who they are. The committee also expressed surprise at how widely the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective has been translated and used among various language groups in Asia. In North America, we also need a foundation for our beliefs. Virtually all pastors I talked with in preparation for a recent consultation on the Confession of Faith Ten Years Later at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary noted the confession’s importance in providing guidance for belief and practice and in introducing people outside our congregations to Mennonite perspectives. But the Macau consultation suggested that the foundation needs to include a style of servant leadership modeled for us by Jesus that is countercultural — a model that teaches reconciliation and forgiveness in our congregations and communities. Like the churches in Asia, our congregations are searching for what it means to be an Anabaptist-Mennonite church in our society. This goal is more difficult when our pastors lack an understanding of Anabaptist perspectives because of their theological backgrounds and training outside Mennonite Church USA. Within our church, we have many opportunities for quality theological education. Instituto Biblico Anabautista, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, the Hesston pastoral ministries program and conference- and congregational-based programs all train pastors and church leaders. Asian church leader Shoki Coe said more than 30 years ago that the aim of theological education should be to "help teachers and students to a deeper understanding of the gospel in the context of the particular cultural and religious setting of the church so that the church may come to a deeper understanding of itself as a missionary community sent into the world" ("In Search of Renewal in Theological Education," Theological Education 9 [1973]: 236). At the Macau consultation, Mennonite missiologist Wilbert Shenk further suggested that a group’s theological identity cannot be developed unless there is sustained and intentional effort. He said we’ve underestimated the importance of formal, intentional education in achieving this goal. During my sabbatical last fall with Mennonite World Conference in Strasbourg, France, I was surprised at how often my conversations with leaders of the Mennonite conferences in Europe focused on our Confession of Faith. The conference of Mennonites in France has adopted the basics of our confession as its own. Mennonites in Asia, Europe and around the world are helping us understand the importance of clarifying our own core convictions and training leaders to help us strengthen our identity as God's people. We want to be part of a church with a grounded faith that doesn't sever its continuity with the past but also is aware of the new realities and opportunities around us. I thank God for the churches and mission workers in Asia who are helping us see ourselves more clearly. In this issue: Features Highlights Viewpoints |
