FAITH AND LIFE

Board Members

David Ewert

John Neufeld

Ron Mathies

Claude Queval

Walter Regehr

Sherry Heidebrecht

Gerhard Reimer

Herb Neufeld

Harold Jantz

Responsibilities

serve as a reference body on doctrinal and ethical issues.
assist churches in finding pastors.
address current issues.

Staff

Reuben Pauls

Madelaine Friesen

One way in which the Board of Faith and Life gives guidance on doctrinal and ethical issues is through publishing pamphlets on critical topics. Pamphlets on the following topics can be obtained from the Conference office:

Homosexuality
Christians and war
Anabaptism
Christians and lotteries
Divorce and remarriage
Materialism

Other pamphlets are in preparation, including the following topics:

Christian retirement
Spousal and child abuse
Living together before marriage
Suicide
Who are the Mennonite Brethren?

The Board of Faith and Life also has two members representing it on the Board of Mennonite Central Committee Canada. (Altogether the Mennonite Brethren have six members on the MCC Canada Board.)

The Board of Faith and Life meets twice a year, once in January and again in July. Between meetings, churches and individuals address a variety of questions to the Board. Some of these are handled by the Board executive or by the executive minister; others are processed when the Board meets. Also, individual members of the Board are asked occasionally to present papers on specific topics. This year, John Neufeld of Bakerview MB Church presented a paper on Freemasonry. Sometimes the Board also authorizes someone to write an article on a current issue for our denominational papers.

At its January, 1996 meetings, the Board of Faith and Life had questions such as the following on its agenda:

The process of evaluating pastors by the local congregation can be troublesome. How can we avoid hurts in the appointment and resignation of pastors?
The decision of the MB General Conference to open up the Lord's table to the non-baptized, even to children, is creating considerable difficulty in some churches, and churches are asking for guidance.
A question that comes up repeatedly is whether churches should baptize people who do not wish to be members of the congregation. Our Confession of Faith states clearly that believers become members through baptism, but the question keeps coming up.
Occasionally there are serious conflicts in churches. The Board of Faith and Life wants to assist such congregations with mediation services materials.
Evidently there are still differences in the ordination procedures in the various provinces, especially in the case of churches employing pastors from a non-Mennonite Brethren background. An effort will be made to achieve greater uniformity in this process, in order to avoid fragmentation in doctrinal matters.

Ongoing concerns of the Board include:

the spiritual renewal of our churches
how to make counselling truly biblical
improving the preaching/teaching ministry in our churches
how to develop worship styles that meet the needs of both the young and the old
how leaders who have fallen into sin, can be restored to fellowship
how churches can be encouraged to have Bible conferences at which entire books of the Bible (or parts thereof) are studied

The Board also has the responsibility for planning the Pastors' Day at the convention this summer.

Faith and Life asks for the prayers of our congregations, so that we may serve the churches and so that together we may find the best ways to build the kingdom of God.

Executive Minister's Report

What's New

Provincial conference ministers at BFL meetings. Because of the front-line ministry of the provincial conference ministers, we have invited them to join the Canadian Board of Faith and Life for our January meetings. They are involved in giving direction at the provincial level, and are aware of the dynamics within the local churches under their care. Increasingly, pastoral placement is a cooperative venture involving both the Canadian and the provincial conferences.

Revitalizing churches. At our last planning retreat, the Executive Board strongly encouraged the executive staff to work with existing plateaued churches, instead of focussing only on planting churches. Within the next year, it is our goal to provide counsel and encouragement to pastors and leaders in several existing churches in each province, to help them refocus their ministries. A seminar prepared by Church Resource Ministries will be offered for interested leaders in June, 1996 to assist in this process.

Ongoing Issues

Pastoral vacancy/placement. While there are more long-term ministries than a decade ago, we continue to experience many transitions in pastoral ministry. A continuing concern is the hurt which often surrounds termination of ministry. There are still many churches in which ongoing evaluation does not take place and the anonymous vote of confirmation often results in a divided church and an ended ministry. If your church would like information on possible options in the evaluation process, please let us know. A painful parting usually necessitates healing of both church and pastor before fruitful ministry can again take place.

Pastoral fatigue. There are many churches in which pastors are tired. This may be due to workload, unreal expectations, poor self-discipline, etc. Sometimes it occurs because of long-term conflict within a church which has not been resolved. The result is an uneasy tension which is present but is not being addressed. We are hoping to give more attention to the issue of conflict resolution in the coming year.

Cooperation with provincial Boards of Faith and Life. There continues to be a need for dialogue with our provincial Faith and Life boards. What is an issue in one area of our country may not be an issue in another. As we grow, there are other issues which need attention. We, as a Canadian Board of Faith and Life want to be sensitive to the diversity in our constituency, while holding tightly to the central tenets of our faith.

Reuben Pauls

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