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Proud to be A Mennonite (in a Humble Way)
Written by Ed Kauffman
Proud to Be A Mennonite (In a humble way, of course)
February 20, 2011
Ed Kauffman, First Mennonite Church
Last Sunday afternoon a message came in on the answering machine from Tyler. Tyler wanted to meet with someone to find out something about the Mennonite faith. I called him back when I got the message, and made an appointment for Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, Tyler didn’t make it, and called back to apologize and work out another time.
But what would you say if you were asked, “Who are the Mennonites?” When Gay first told her parents that she was dating a Mennonite, her Father’s first reaction was, “Mennonite, that’s one of those heathen religions, isn’t it?” We get confused with Mormons, Hutterites, Amish, Old Testament Ammonites, and probably some others. I remember on one of the cruises we took striking up a conversation with another couple who asked what I did. I said I was a pastor and of course they asked what denomination. When I said, “Mennonite”, they got this strange look on their faces and said, “On a cruise?” We assured them we had left our horse and buggy in safe hands back on shore!
Anabaptist Mennonites carry in their psyche a long memory of persecution and migration. We have our martyr books and stories, most notably in the Martyr’s Mirror. We maybe know the story of Dirk Willems or others, and we have our own family stories of migration whether long ago or more recent. That history for centuries made Mennonites the “quiet in the land”, wanting to keep a low profile and not rock the boat. Perhaps then we would be left alone.
And our history also includes some stories we would like to forget. There’s the Thomas Muenser episode at Muenster, Germany which included a violent end and was for years the main example of Anabaptists used by other denominations in their church history teaching. Or there is the Klaas Epp migration to Central Asia, now Turkestan, to await the return of Jesus in 1889 often referred to as the Trek. I pastored in Beatrice, NE among numerous descendants of that group, Epps and Jantzens and others, and learned of their family shame at the episode. Our history is not all rosy.
On the other hand, Anabaptism has lately had a resurgence and in some places become almost a fadl. Persons like Stanley Hauerwas, Greg Boyd and Shane Claibourne are writing books and speaking to groups and proclaiming that if they want to see a group that has tried to maintain a Biblical faith as followers of Jesus, they should check out the Mennonites. Greg has been speaking to Mennonites in a variety of settings, and telling us that we have a treasure that needs to be shared.
Stuart Murray’s new book, The Naked Anabaptist, says much the same thing and it is getting a wide audience. You’ve heard me talk of groups of young adults and others in the Emerging Church movement who are joining the Mennonite Church because they see us as living out what they read in the NT, and having a long history that they want to be a part of. Anabaptism has become acceptable, even held up as exemplary. It’s almost embarrassing, and yet makes one a bit proud.
I remember the first time I felt that way as a Mennonite. We were attending a National Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution (NCPCR) in Montreal. There were people there from all over the world and many faiths. But it seemed no matter who I talked to, when I said I was a Mennonite, they would exclaim how wonderful the Mennonites were, and how they were leaders in the field of peacemaking and conflict resolution.
I have had the same experience as part of the MN Council of Churches, which our Central Plains Conference joined a number of years ago. There I was welcomed, as I was at a National Council of Churches gathering two years ago. And there I met representatives of the Canadian Council of Churches, with whom I chatted about our mutual friend Jack Suderman, and the World Council of Churches with whom I chatted about our mutual friend Larry Miller, Executive Sec. of the Mennonite World Conference. More recently the Lutheran World body has formally apologized to the Mennonites for the treatment we received during the Reformation.
So when we talk about our Mennonite Identity, as we want to do next Sunday during the SS time, which face are we going to portray? Who are we as Mennonites, and do we have something unique to share? Let’s look first at the question of who we are. If you go to YouTube and search for Mennonites, you find all kinds of things, but here is one short attempt to answer the question, Who are the Mennonites?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1nU8Fi6ILI
Mennonites as a unique entity trace their roots to the 16th century in Germany and Holland and to a group called the Anabaptists, sometimes referred to as the Radical Reformers. Of course the history of the Christian Church goes back to the New Testament, and includes the history of the Catholic church from the first century until the 16th. That history too is important and some of the renewal groups during that time are antecedents to the Anabaptists. But from the Reformation on the Anabaptists and later Mennonites hold a somewhat unique place in the Christian Church. It has been characterized by numerous people as a Third Way, neither Catholic nor Protestant.
But being Mennonite is not just about our history. What makes a Mennonite today? How would you explain to Tyler what it means to be a Mennonite? At the North American Summit in Winnipeg a few years ago, a number of people were asked that question. Let’s hear what they had to say.
Palmer Becker, Mennonite pastor and educator, in a little booklet called “What is An Anabaptist Christian” characterized our faith in this way,
“Jesus is the centre of our faith
Community is the centre of our life
Reconciliation is the centre of our work”
Let’s look at each of these statements briefly.
Jesus is the centre of our lives, or as Susan Mark Landis said in the video, quoting Lynn Miller, “We believe Jesus meant what he said and he was talking to us.” Anabaptist Mennonites have always looked to Jesus, not only for salvation through his cross and resurrection, but also as teacher and example. The popular phrase,” What would Jesus Do?” has been a central question for Mennonites since their beginnings. Menno Simons’ key Bible verse from I Cor. 3:11 is central. “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which has been laid, namely, Jesus Christ.” Jesus is the centre of our faith.
Community is the centre of our lives. We will talk more about this next Sunday during worship, so let me just say that for Anabaptist Mennonites, the stories from Acts, or the admonishment of James are central to our understanding of church. Church is not just a place to come for worship, to hear preaching and receive the sacraments. The church is the body, the people of God who support each other, practice mutual aid, give and receive counsel, and share together as a model of the Kingdom of God already present on earth. But more next week on that.
And finally, reconciliation is the centre of our work. While there are numerous Scriptures that point to this emphasis, the one we read from II Cor. 5 would be a key one. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Mennonites are known as one of the historic peace churches along with the Quakers and Church of the Brethren. And being a peace church has come to mean so much more than just not participating in war. We do believe that God has called us to continue God’s work of reconciliation in the world, calling people to a relationship with God, with each other, and with all of creation.
There would be other ways of stating who Mennonite are, but those three statements are a good summary. And, indeed, those three emphases make us as Mennonites somewhat unique in the spectrum of faith. Not that other groups wouldn’t also claim some of those, but these things have been central to our faith for almost 500 years.
My first contact with the MN Council of Churches was when I was asked to speak to their board about who Mennonites were, and how we viewed ecumenical relations. In looking over the Council’s founding documents, I found what I thought was a wonderful statement which noted that members of the Council believed that each of them had something to share with the other members, and each of them believed that they had things they could learn from the others. In my presentation, I noted that for many years Mennonites, in my opinion, didn’t really believe either one of those things. We tended to think that we had little to contribute, or at least nothing that anyone wanted to hear, and we also tended to think that maybe we had a corner on the truth.
Thankfully, I believe we have come, at least in part, to embrace both of those statements. I do believe, and we are being told by many voices, that we as Mennonites have something to share with the broader Christian Church, and even beyond. Our history and the central points of our beliefs are uniquely relevant in this post-modern age. Mennonites are being recognized and even courted in ecumenical circles. Our writers and theologians are being discovered and read. It’s becoming ok, and even fashionable to be a Mennonite. We can be proud to be Mennonites, as long as we do it in a humble way, or course.
And we have also become clear that we can learn from others as well. As Mennonites we do not have corner on the truth. We too have things to learn from our Protestant and Catholic brothers and sisters, from Pentecostals and Lutherans, from Orthodox and United. And even from other faiths.
So if we agree on that, and I hope we do, how can we at First Mennonite contribute to the conversation? Can we articulate who we are as Anabaptist Mennonites? Do we know some of our history as a group and as a congregation, both good and bad, that will help us tell our story to others? And what are those places where we can share who we are? Where can we learn from others, and share our unique perspective on the Gospel with those around us? Can we truly be proud of our heritage and faith tradition?
In I Corinthians 12, which we will look at next Sunday, Paul uses the image of the body to talk about the church. We often relate that image to the congregation, but I believe we can use the same imagery to talk about the whole Christian Church. In Christianity, each denomination brings their own uniqueness and gifts to the whole, and each has something to contribute. As Anabaptist Mennonites, I believe we also are a part of that body, and as such have something to contribute. I’m proud to be a Mennonite, and glad to be a Mennonite, and I’m glad to be the pastor of a Mennonite Church.
No, we’re not one of those heathen religions. We are followers of Jesus, involved in God’s mission of reconciliation in the world, and part of the body of Christ, a sign of God’s Kingdom. What does a Mennonite look like? – well, at least around here, they look like us!