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Scientific record flawed

Valerie Streilein, Winnipeg, MB

I am saddened by the latest Encounter. Not only is the article by Hugh Ross given but his newsletter, address and phone number. To accept a Big Bang is to accept the billions of years of death and decay needed for evolution. The Scriptures (I Corinthians 15:21, Romans 5:17,19) say death, sin and the curse came through the one man – Adam.

Before Darwin, Christians accepted the worldwide flood of Noah (Genesis 6-8). Hugh Ross does not. He therefore denies many things, including the covenant given by God with the rainbow.

Biblical scientific creation organizations worldwide provide information concerning radiometric dating, carbon 14 dating, dinosaurs, the Genesis flood, the Ice Age. Visit the web sites: Answers in Genesis and ICR; phone 800-628-7640; write to Answers in Genesis, Box 6330, Florence, Ky. 41022-6330; or fax 606-371-4448.

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Questioning is not rebellion

Daniel B. Konrad, Prince George, BC

The articles on “Leading the local church” (Nov. 6) by Guenther and Heidebrecht and Vern Heidebrecht and the editorial were informative and encouraging, while John Redekop was his usual analytic self, trying to help us see all sides of a situation.

Somewhat unsettling, however, were Reuben Pauls and Wayne M. Warner. The apostle Paul uses a sports model to challenge us in our commitment to Christ but to bring current sports coaching styles into church pastoring strains the analogy.

Pauls laments distrust of leadership, blaming church members for adopting society’s system of “democracy”. While it is true that cynicism about secular leaders exists and does not seem to be entirely unfounded, I would hope that distrust of church leadership is not similarly based. Are we certain that “lording it over others” never occurs in our churches? Excluding the less spiritual masses from decision-making gets very close to elitist phariseeism, it seems to me.

I agree that there is no place for divisive opposition within a church, but when simple questioning of a position or a request for more background information or even honest disagreement on a nonessential issue is made out to be opposition to the building of the Kingdom of God, I being to wonder about openness and integrity.

Pauls further laments the possibility of an unspiritual, uninformed, immature individual determining the direction of the church by virtue of the “swing vote.” Is this line of reasoning not in danger of allowing Machiavellian manipulation to creep into church leadership?

Re Pauls’ conclusions:

“Don’t hide the issues from the community of faith.” I agree. Excluding the “less spiritual” contradicts the first conclusion. “Leadership leads and followers follow” assumes complete and mutual trust. Are the roots of distrust always on the underside? I think Jim Jones liked this one. “All business in the church is spiritual.” Yes, but this does not justify exclusivity and lack of transparency, or compensate for failure to earn trust.

May God gives us more servant leaders. They seem to have more resistance to burnout.

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Viral Infection

Henry Koop, Winnipeg, MB

The Christian church is under attack from within. At least one Mennonite Brethren church has fallen already. It took only seven members to destroy its Christian witness. The virus is spreading throughout the Mennonite Brethren Church, mostly through the pages of the MB Herald. We must seriously look at shutting down the Herald, or at least put it on a subscription basis to contain the disease.

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Last modified July 20, 1999.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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