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Letters to the editor
Mennonite Brethren Herald welcomes your letters on issues relevant to the Mennonite Brethren Church, especially in response to material published in the Herald. Please keep your letters courteous, brief and about one subject only. We will edit letters for length and clarity. We will not publish letters sent anonymously, although we may withhold names from publication at the request of the letter writer and at our discretion. Publication is also subject to space limitations. Because the Letters column is a free forum for discussion, it should be understood that letters represent the position of the letter writer, not necessarily the position of the Herald or the Mennonite Brethren Church. Send letters to:
Letters, MB Herald
3-169 Riverton Ave.
Winnipeg, Man. R2L 2E5
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or by e-mail to mbherald@mbconf.ca. (Please ensure that your postal address is included in your e-mail correspondence.) |
More on the Body of Christ
Mark Klassen (Letters, Nov. 3) notes the difference between being baptized into the spiritual Body of Christ, and being baptized into a local congregation of a denomination. Practically speaking, one can be a baptized member of a local MB congregation and get away with very minimal involvement (with Sunday morning attendance and some money in the offering, no one will probably ever bother you). This has very little resemblance, however, to what Jesus was looking for when He called people to “follow Me”. Nor is there much resemblance between “attending” church and what exploded onto the scene on the day of Pentecost and spread like wildfire around the Mediterranean world.
Nevertheless, biblically speaking, every local congregation has the potential of being an expression of the Body of Christ on earth – because there is at present no other kind of “Body of Christ” on earth. Every such congregation should be striving to be as true an expression as possible of the Body of Christ. Here is one suggestion as to how we might do it better.
Every Sunday night, ten members of our larger congregation meet together in a home, to be “church” together. We spend time catching up on what is happening in each other’s lives; read the Word of God together and share insights and the struggles we are having in applying it to our lives; worship the Lord together; and pray for one another. Everyone participates. Leadership is exercised. Helpful teaching comes forth. Exhortations are given. The sick are prayed for. Needs are confessed. We are encouraged and strengthened. The prayers include many beyond our circle, thereby involving us in the mission of the church. Accountability for one another is felt and expressed. Some food and drink is shared. Our love for one another is deepened. It reminds one of Acts 2:42, 4:33.
Since very little of this can happen on a Sunday morning, why don’t we consider making this kind of Sunday night meeting the place where church membership is held? So, whether the larger congregation is 100 or 1000, you are a member of it through your membership and participation in the small group (whether it is called care group, growth group, cell group, house church, youth group, senior’s group, etc.). The churches of Jerusalem and Corinth were made up of many smaller house churches. It is a biblical precedent worth reviving. What a relief it would be for the harassed staff of our larger congregations to know that every member is being cared for in such a small group – because our pastoral staff can never adequately shepherd a few hundred people.
However, even though the Sunday night kind of meeting makes commitment, accountability, and deep fellowship possible, it is never automatic. Unless there is teaching, modelling, a “hunger and thirst for righteousness”, a desire to follow the Lord and a leaning on the Holy Spirit, it will remain only another good plan.
Herb Klassen,
Abbotsford, B.C.
Herald not the place for political discussion
I agree with Roland Sawatzky (Letters, Dec. 15) – partisan politics do not belong in the MB Herald. The editorial response, that “theology and morality intersect with political and social life at many points, and the Herald . . . has a right, indeed a responsibility to address those . . . issues” is a disappointing eschewal of responsibility. By failing to establish any boundaries, the statement effectively gives carte blanche justification to Herald editors to print articles voicing any political positions, regardless of how those positions may be accepted by the readers. Are we to expect more letters and articles that display the kind of thinly veiled vitriol and partisanship evidenced by Dave Hubert (Letters, on Dec. 1)? Since when is the mandate of the Herald to provide a podium to political activists? Although the Herald may not endorse the opinions voiced in a letter, by printing the letter, it does endorse a discussion of that opinion. Is that what we want in our denominational periodical?
The Herald is in a unique position to challenge MBs in their spiritual growth, to disseminate biblical knowledge and to provide information on the history, churches, programs and people that make up our denomination. It saddens me that instead of seizing the opportunity to maximize the impact the Herald can have on individual lives, it chooses instead to assume the role of political pundit. I encourage the Herald editors to be more judicious when determining what articles and letters should be printed.
Kevin Driedger,
Waterdown, Ont.
Editing distorted letter
I was not pleased with your editing of my letter (Dec. 1) concerning Elmer Thiessen’s “Reflections on Natural Church Development” (Sept. 22). Your edit made me appear rude, referring to “Thiessen” instead of “Elmer Thiessen”. As well, you left out this challenge: “Could I ask that Christian Schwarz provide the MB Herald with a rebuttal to Elmer Thiessen’s concerns?”
George H. Epp,
Chilliwack, B.C.
Mary was not “unmarried”
In “What kind of Christmas card” (Dec. 1), I wonder whether the writer meant to say the phrase: “a child born to an unmarried peasant woman”. In Matthew 1:20, Joseph was told clearly: “Do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary for the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.” Moreover, according to Jewish law, it would have been very wrong for Joseph to live with a woman who was not married to him.
Amanda Poetker,
Edmonton, Alta.
Canadian writers
My New Year’s resolution is to submit several articles to the MB Herald this year because I see too many US writers in our Canadian publication.
- Do you not have enough submissions from Canadian writers?
- Are most of these articles submitted to you or do you read them in other publications and then reprint them?
- Is it time to encourage our Canadian writers more with contests, workshops, etc.?
- Could you assign more articles to retired pastors, Bible school teachers, missionaries or experts in their fields?
- Is it time to stress once more that each church appoint a correspondent to the MB Herald?
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Maybe I’ll make another resolution: to start my own campaign to urge Canadian MB writers to submit articles to the MB Herald.
Selma Hooge,
Greendale, B.C.
- We seek to publish the best and most helpful articles, regardless of nationality. According to our most recent analysis, two-thirds of our writers are Canadian, and most of the rest are American. Many of the Americans work for MB or Mennonite agencies. Canadian MBs have a built-in advantage because they understand the Canadian MB readership.
- Most are submitted; occasionally we ask permission to reprint an article.
- Workshops stimulate and develop writers, but they are a great deal of work.
- We “assign” very few articles.
- We encourage each church to appoint a church reporter to report local church news to the Herald. However, church reporters mainly contribute family items, photos and news stories, not feature articles. Ed.
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Previous | Next Last modified January 31, 2001.
© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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