Previous | Next 

Lethbridge, Alta.
Back to Radical


“When is enough stuff enough?” challenged Nathan Regier, a Friday night speaker at an Anabaptist renewal conference held in Lethbridge, Alta. February 18-20.

Regier was one of 10 speakers from across Canada who challenged conference attendees in one way or another to live out their Anabaptist faith, not just by adhering to Anabaptist tradition, but by going back to the root, Jesus Christ.

Sponsored by College Drive Community Church, the conference, called “Back to Radical”, brought together 165 registrants and up to 300 visitors/sessional participants for an intense time of teaching, worship, ministry and fellowship.

In addition to the speakers, the conference received musical leadership from three guest worship leaders, who brought with them a passionate desire to worship God.

The conference was opened by an act of humility, with Herm Plett, senior pastor at College Drive, washing the feet of Randy Friesen, the keynote speaker for the evening.

Friesen opened the weekend by spelling out to delegates the direction of the weekend, explaining that the word “radical” actually means “to return to the root of”. “And it’s not just the root of our forefathers, or just the 16th century. We’re not going back to the apostles,” said Friesen. “We’re going back to the Lord Jesus!”

Later Friday night, a sanctuary full of delegates and people from the community heard Regier pick up where Friesen left off. He called the audience to break from our materialistic society and live the truth of Jesus’ words. He said that what made the Anabaptists radical was their desire to break from patterns and ideas where the church had gone astray from the teachings of Jesus. “Though we are creedily equivalent, we have ceased to do the dynamic equivalent of early Anabaptist reformers,” said Regier in a later interview.

Accompanying each teaching session was a time of corporate worship, led by Gareth Goosen, Jane Martens, Joe Klassen and Craig Ginn. In addition to a repertoire of both fast and soft songs, several new songs written for the conference were introduced, one of which was recorded and will soon be available as an MP3 file on the Web.

Saturday morning began with a session led by Plett on inner reformation, in which he talked about renewal through the power of the Holy Spirit. This was followed by an afternoon of workshops. Participants could choose two of ten available topics. The workshops gave them the opportunity to ask questions and share ideas in a small, classroom setting.

David Ewert taught a congregation-size Sunday school class in the sanctuary Sunday morning, on the authority of Scripture. As well, the renowned Bible scholar and author shared an expository sermon Sunday evening. “There is one very fundamental issue, and that is we are being experience-focused and missing biblical teaching. Experience is enjoyable, but you still have to know what the Scriptures teach,” shared Dr. Ewert during an interview.

At a final forum on Sunday afternoon, panelists addressed issues concerning the relevance of Anabaptist identity, theology and practice, followed by an open mic session. The setting was intended to allow registrants to speak out on broad issues of Anabaptism; however, some organizers later said they were disappointed that at times personal issues overshadowed community ones.

The weekend was packed with great fellowship, both in the hallways and in the fellowship hall, an unfinished gathering room that became the centre for meeting new people and holding in-depth conversations.

Another important component to the weekend were times of ministry and prayer, which often took place during post-session worship.

Craig Ginn, one of the organizers, said that “Back to Radical” brought Anabaptists together in a conference setting that gave priority to teaching, worship and ministry. “Too often we spend time in business sessions and administration and not enough in the presence of God where we seek His vision and direction,” he said.

Organizers of the conference hope to launch a Web site that will feature pictures from “Back to Radical” and also include interviews with many of the speakers and musicians regarding Anabaptism. Ginn said there are plans for a similar conference next year, with possible topics including “Are we as biblical as we think?” and “Peace among Anabaptists – Is it possible?” Future conference information will be available on the Web site.

 – James Harder

Previous | Next 

Last modified August 29, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.