MWR : Gospel should change lives

Last updated January 18.

Send letters to the editor, or suggestions for our stories or Web site, to MWR‘s editors.

Jan. 23, 2012 issue

Print this article.

3 comments on this article.

Gospel should change lives

‘Peculiar’ people unashamed of call to repentance

By Luke Bennetch

Page:

We practice the holy kiss. We observe footwashing along with communion. We believe Jesus taught separation of church and state; therefore we don’t vote or participate in politics and protests. We believe Jesus taught us to trust God and not worldly securities, so we seek to avoid insurance when we can.

Yes, we are strangely different from mainstream Mennonites today. But you don’t have to go back too many generations to find these same practices in most Mennonite churches.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of change. It is not an accommodation to current trends, thoughts, philosophies or practices of the world. It is not an easy gospel.

Could it be that some Mennonite churches today have embraced a gospel of tolerance and accommodation instead of the gospel that changes lives? We recommend every Mennonite church take a good look at the gospel they have embraced and compare it with the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

We fully understand that many people are not ready for the drastic change this gospel brings. We do not have large crowds gathering in our churches. Few people show up at our services, and fewer still accept this gospel and become a part of our group.

But we are not ashamed, because we knew it would be this way. Our Lord prepared us for this when he said, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:14).

We are open to direction from the Word of God, but it is our sincere desire that the saving process would not go both ways as we witness in the city. We are not interested in accommodation and acculturation that moves us away from the gospel.

Why should we change our gospel? Shouldn’t this gospel change the lives of people who accept it?

Luke Bennetch is pastor of Bronx Mennonite Church.

Page:

Comments

This reminds me of some of the reflections I had after reading "From Nonresistance to Justice" by Ervin Stutzman. In the book he explores how the Mennonite Church in the course of the 20th century moved from emphasizing "Non-Resistance and Non-Conformity" to, in the final decades, "Peace and Justice" understood prominently through active non-violence. He suggests, near the end of the book, to recover an understanding of Grace as a powerful movement behind "Peace and Justice".

My thoughts focused not on that but how "Non-Resitance and Non-Conformity" became only "Nonviolence". I sense in this article you are emphasizing the loss of non-conformity in mainstream mennonite churches.

- Isaiah (jan 19 at 11:10 a.m.)
I am so glad you published this story. It saddens me to see story after story of our churches giving up Godly ways to look like if not join the world. Young christians today want to be accepted by the world and see the need to be like the world to do it. I have even heard people in trying to bring people to church say that their music sounds just like secular music and that their preacher would never say that a non beleiver was a sinner. I'm sorry, but any non beleiver that is comfortable in church has no reason to change.

In this age of moral relativism and moral decline. The last thing the city needs is another liberal church that tells the world what it wants to hear. From the beginning of time God's people were easily identified by how they acted, lived, AND dressed. Though freindly to a fault to the pagan we are to be different. This kind of outreach to the city is needed. I wish I had read Mr. Kraybills article in June. He is sadly mistaken. Giving up clear biblical teaching and practice is not the way to attract modern seekers, and our women do NOT wear headcoverings to show that they are subserviant. The fact that plain folk can live in the city and reach out to the city shows true christian courage. The Pilgrim church is not the only one in New york either. There is also Followers of Jesus conservative Mennonite church in Brooklyn. This church also runs a school and is a stopping point for Conservative Mennonite and Amish travelers. Their pastor used to be Sid Roth.

I truly hope that this effort not only survives but can spread to other cities across the USA. Each church is a blessing to the city.

- Richard Matter (jan 19 at 11:52 a.m.)
Luke, thank you for your article and Sheldon for publishing it.

Mennonites used to have the same witnessing zeal you speak of. Sadly, that has been replaced by social justice, climate justice, pacifist and GLBT inclusion thinking zeal.

In my library is a book titled Separated unto God, authored by John C. Wenger, and published by Mennonite Publishing House in 1951. Wenger was a noted Mennonite theologian, writer, book author, taught at Goshen College and the Seminary in Elkhart. Mennonite Church leaders asked him to write the book to address the drift church leaders were concerned about. It fell on deaf ears.

I am encouraged that there are people like Pilgrim Mennonites who seriously take the Great Commission seriously in their belief and living. Please do not be distracted by the ‘other gospels’ that the apostles warn us against.

- Dale Welty (jan 29 at 3:50 p.m.)

Comment on the article Gospel should change lives

Please keep comments civil. MWR editors reserve the right to remove any comment. When posting a comment, you agree to the MWR Comments Policy. Name and comment will be posted; commenters are strongly encouraged to give their full name. Email address is for follow-up only and will not be made public.