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Well, did it matter? There are lots of other passages which talk about Christians' responsibility to the poor. The preacher wasn't saying anything unorthodox, so what difference does it make? A lot of sermons I have heard have used the same careless approach to interpreting Scripture.
Shortly after that, I read an article arguing that homosexual practice is not condemned in the Bible and that certain homosexual relationships should be welcomed by the church. I rejected the article. The writer was reading his own ideas into Scripture and rejecting the plain meaning of texts; he was using the cultural context not just to understand the text but to explain away parts of the Bible he didn't like; as a result, he had come to some unorthodox conclusions.
Then, I started to wonder. Even though the conclusions were far different, this writer's method of interpreting the Bible was not that different from what I have found in many "orthodox" sermons. What are the chances that the unorthodox article on homosexuality would be accepted by members of our churches? Why not, when they have been taught Sunday after Sunday that sloppy methods of interpreting Scripture are acceptable?
Hermeneutics, the way we interpret Scripture, is an extremely crucial issue in our time, and in any time. It has huge implications for almost every other issue we deal with. An important session at the last B.C. MB Conference pastors' retreat focused on the learned skill of interpreting Scripture correctly. The pastors wrestled with how to interpret Scripture with integrity.
All of us who interpret Scripture, preachers, teachers and writers, should constantly examine ourselves. Are we careful every time we preach, teach or write to make sure that we are saying exactly what the text says? Are we ever tempted to cut corners, using the justification that what we want to say is supported by "a lot of other texts" that we haven't bothered to look up and analyze? Do we ever exaggerate or downplay or organize or shift the meaning ever so slightly to make our point? Are we constantly willing to have our understanding (even on our most cherished doctrines) corrected by further study of Scripture? Are we willing to face Scripture truths that are difficult for us to accept and even more difficult to preach--surely God couldn't have meant that? Are we modelling for our hearers and readers how to properly, reverently and obediently interpret Scripture? After all, it is the Bible which has authority over us, not we over the Bible.
* A General (North American) MB Conference task force is re-examining how we do conference, which could result in the abolition or merger of some conference levels. Its report, being written this fall, will be processed by a General Conference convention next summer.
* At meetings held Sept. 23-25, MB Biblical Seminary decided on a major decentralization, with extensive development of the B.C. Centre and possibly other centres (see the news story elsewhere in this issue).
* At meetings held at the same time, MBMS International announced a major reorganization of its administration structure.
* On October 28, the Canadian MB Conference Executive Board will meet in Calgary to reassess budget priorities, a discussion which could result in significant changes.
* A number of provincial conferences are undertaking similar re-evaluations.
* In adapting the Board of Evangelism's Key Cities Initiatives last July, the Canadian Conference has already made a sigificant change in direction, which also significantly changed the way the Canadian and provincial conferences work together.
* The establishment of the Mennonite University Federation in Winnipeg has not only changed the face of MB education and MB/Mennonite relations, but also incidentally left the Canadian Conference with a decision about where to relocate its central office.
And these are only the major restructuring initiatives, not including items such as the development of the International Committee of Mennonite Brethren, the revision of the MB Confession of Faith, the possible loss of the MB Herald's Funded Postal Rates, the hiring of a Canadian Conference webmaster, and our wrestling with issues regarding homosexuality. At no time since I have been a member of the MB Church can I remember so many significant changes happening all at once.
For Conference employees, this restructuring can be unsettling, perhaps even frightening. In any restructuring, for instance, there is always the possibility that some employees could lose their jobs.
On the other hand, many of the changes are exciting. In fact, it sometimes seems to me to be the Conference employees, those who work with Conference structures every day, who are the prime encouragers of re-evaluation and restructuring--even when that restructuring might have negative implications for them personally.
It seems to be a law of life that anything that does not change is dead. From my perspective, the MB Church is retooling to meet the needs of the next century, readying itself for more effective ministry. Please pray that this is so, that the changes will have positive effects, not negative ones. The next few months are going to be a very exciting time, and I'm looking forward to them. At the very least, there is going to be much to write about.
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