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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.) |
Desperation for God
Going through the articles regarding this summer’s MB Conference convention, I noticed an absence of any call to becoming and remaining in a state of dependence on and desperation for God. This is the only path to life, spiritual power and vitality.
After being in the Mennonite church culture for a number of years, I have been impressed by subtle, unspoken teaching that says: “Here is this proof that God is pleased with me; I have no real problems, I have money.” When all is well, what need do we have of God or of one another? When there is “positive cash flow”, experiencing community is hard, if not impossible. Will those who are rich have any desire to be with God, His people or the desperate of this world? Those in our midst who are going through difficulty, are often regarded as being substandard believers, when in fact they are buying gold refined in the fire.
To a large degree, the church in the West has lost its value for things above. It has put aside its call to community, while personal freedom is maintained. It behaves more like those who are on a vacation cruise than like Noah who pleaded with people to enter the ark and flee the coming judgement. Theirs is a relentless pursuit of ease and contentment. This world’s philosophy has so permeated the church that the people of God show little distinction from those the church seeks to minister to.
Jesus threatened to do a radical thing to the Laodicean church if they did not repent. He hasn’t changed. He still shows His power towards those who name His name but will not acknowledge their desperate need For Him.
Nils Langhjelm,
Chilliwack, B.C.
Applause for whom?
The letter “Worship not about us” (Sept. 13) gave me much solid food for thought. It challenged me to consider my own perception and practice of worship and calls for changes.
It also revived questions I have about the practice of applause in our evangelical churches. When I returned to Canada after missionary service in Colombia and Panama, it took me by surprise. I’m still puzzled about “why” and “for whom” we are called upon to applaud during worship services. Am I the only one who is uncomfortable with it? I would appreciate discussion on this subject.
Herta J. Voth,
Winnipeg, Man.
Our understanding differs
Re Peter Hubert’s letter (Oct. 25): The easy answer why some biblical teachings are not part of our Confession of Faith is that we do not all hold the same view.
Hubert says that the rapture of the church is imminent and Jesus’ visible return in power and glory is not imminent. My understanding differs from that. Matthew 24:29-30 says that “Immediately after the tribulation” the Son of Man will come “in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” and Matthew 24:40-42 speaks of those left behind. How can they be left behind apart from the rapture?
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we see the same language, “The Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven . . . with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise.” 1 Corinthians 15:52 also refers to the last trumpet when the dead shall be raised incorruptible. When does the last trumpet sound? When the mystery of God will be finished (Revelation 10:7) and when the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord (Revelation 11:15).
A mathematical note. There are 1000 years between the two resurrections, not 1007 years.
However we understand certain passages, if it does not hinder our salvation, it may be better to omit it from our Confession of Faith.
Henry Klassen,
Simcoe, Ont.
Bible says to pay pastors
I am responding to the recent controversy concerning “paid pastors”.
- The Bible clearly teaches that pastors who preach the gospel should be paid. 1 Corinthians 9:14 says, “In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” The previous 13 verses build towards this statement, lest anyone thinks this verse is being taken out of context.
- Paul chose the option of not being paid. The church in the Bible is never given the option not to pay the preacher. Paul makes it clear that it was his choice, not the churches’, that he not be paid: “What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it” (1 Corinthians 9:18).
- Menno Simons was wrong to equate the maintenance of pure motives for preaching with pastors who are not paid: “Pastors are to be diligently supporting themselves as much as possible lest they be found selling the free Word of God which was given them without price” (Letters, Oct. 4). To say that not paying pastors will keep them from “selling the Word of God” is an attempt to use manmade rules to achieve a spiritual goal. Colossians 2:23 says, “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” Any attempts apart from the Holy Spirit to attain and maintain pure motives for preaching the gospel are bound to fail. Galatians 3:3 says, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit are you now trying to attain your goal (pure motives) by human effort?”
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Let us pray, rather than not pay, for all preachers of the gospel that the Holy Spirit would anoint them with the power needed for the preaching of the Word to produce a harvest of souls.
Ted Klassen, pastor, Culloden MB Church,
Vancouver, B.C.
Walking in a spirit of grace
For a month, I have watched a few incarcerated men lay bricks by hand. They carefully follow a plan. It seems sad to me that no community members are working with them. Today, as I passed by, we discussed the possibility that visitors to the jail might naively treat the 30-foot concrete circle as a patio area unless it is somehow more clearly defined as a labyrinth. Perhaps a circle of benches around the edge and a plaque with explanation will help. On November 21 during Restorative Justice Week, the labyrinth will be dedicated to the memory of warden Ron Wiebe, who was an elder in a local MB church.
Having read the letters on the subject of labyrinths (Oct. 4, July 12), I am thankful for the open dialogue on this topic. As a Christian working in Federal Corrections, I want to respond. So often we get it wrong. We walk in a spirit of judgement and resentment instead of a spirit of grace and love. We criticize instead of praise. As Christians, we are freed through the Son to talk to the Father anytime and anywhere. While we do not need a specific setting, some find it easier to pray at their bedside or in a church sanctuary, while others experience God most fully when they are outdoors. We don’t need to judge one another over these matters. Let’s be thankful when we hear from others that God is working in their lives and point them to the Scriptures for His truth revealed.
Nellie Taylor,
Abbotsford, B.C.
Previous | Next Last modified December 16, 2002.
© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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