Toward a more perfect confession

CALGARY, ALTA.

It doesn't sound like a very exciting weekend--104 Mennonite Brethren leaders gathered in a church gym to discuss theology. But it was. In fact, it was a spiritually uplifting experience.

Between 1987 and 1993, the General (North American) MB Conference Board of Faith and Life wrote or rewrote three articles to revise the 1975 Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith. Realizing more was needed, in 1993 BFL asked for and received permission to revise the entire Confession. Two more articles were approved in 1995, and the final 13 were presented to the 1997 General Conference convention in 1997. BFL asked for feedback, and the draft of those 13 articles received numerous criticisms and suggestions. BFL drastically revised the draft in spring, 1998 and then invited theologians and conference leaders to meet in Calgary to refine the draft further. The meeting was held Oct. 29-31 in Dalhousie MB Community Church in Calgary. BFL had hoped 100 leaders would come; 104 were present, including 15 women.

The weekend was not just a prolonged argument about theology. BFL had planned it carefully.

First, the meeting began Thursday afternoon with an hour and a half of prayer. Further sessions of extensive prayer were held each morning, with shorter prayers throughout the day.

Second, the assembled theologians did not just work through the Confession; they worshipped through it, by singing and by using a series of responsive readings prepared as a companion piece to the Confession.

Third, participants listened to two sermons by senior MB leaders, which set the tone for the discussion. The first, by General Conference executive secretary Marvin Hein, made three points: As evangelicals, we are wrongly suspicious of theological thinking. As evangelicals, we need a marriage of theology and practice, mind and heart. As anabaptist evangelicals, we believe thinking and acting in a Christian way are inescapably communal; they should be done through the faith community acting together, not through individual Christians thinking and acting on their own.

The other sermon was by revered MB Bible scholar David Ewert ("the MB equivalent to astronaut John Glenn"). He preached on "Workers Together on God's Field" from I Corinthians 3:5-9, pointing out five characteristics: the diversity of the workers (we all have different gifts but all are necessary); the lowliness of the workers (humility does not mean that we despise ourselves but that we are totally dependent on God for our effectiveness); the unity of the workers (we have a common purpose); the dignity of the workers (God calls us His co-workers, and it is a great honour to serve in His kingdom); and the reward for the workers (we are to work hard, and God keeps a record of our humble efforts).

Fourth, the attenders fellowshipped actively during meals and other breaks, which were relatively short. Occasionally the sessions were lightened by laughter.

Finally, the participants worked very hard through complex theological arguments in a process that was both stimulating and mind-numbing. They began work at 8:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and finished at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Their diligent work was rewarded by an earlier-than-expected finish at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Delegates first worked through each article of the Confession, line by line and word by word, in groups of eight around tables. Their suggestions for changes were handed in to a listening committee of Val Rempel and Gerry Ediger, who analyzed them, accepted obvious corrections and reported back issues which had been raised by a number of groups and which needed further discussion by the whole group.

If BFL had hoped that a final draft of the Confession would be produced by this consultation, it soon became apparent that this was not achievable by a committee of 104. In the end, quite a few changes were made; a number of additions were accepted; directions for further change were agreed on; many verses were suggested for inclusion in the list of texts at the bottom of the articles; many other items were suggested for inclusion in the pastoral application/commentary which is being written to accompany and interpret the confession; and the final details were left to BFL to work out. The meetings achieved not completion, but consensus. Article by article, participants expressed deep satisfaction with the reworked Confession.

Marvin Hein had stated that the purpose of the meeting was to produce "an imperfect but more accurate Confession of Faith". This was clearly achieved. After BFL has finished putting in the changes asked for at this consultation and rechecking the result, the Confession will be presented to the July, 1999 General Conference convention for ratification.

While the full range of the changes made will be published in the final draft, a few of the issues can be mentioned. The delegation never divided into camps on any issue. Rather all worked together to express precisely what the Bible teaches. Often the struggle was to achieve the right balance of biblical teachings.

1. Wording will be added to stress that Jesus is sinless and eternal.

2. There was concern that the metaphors "God comforts like a mother, trains and dsciplines like a father, and persists in covenant love like a faithful husband" promoted stereotypes of family roles, but the phrases were defended as biblical and will probably stay.

3. There was concern that "God is a consuming fire, unapproachable in holiness" would not be understood by seekers and might keep them from coming to God. However, again the phrases were defended as biblical and as necessary to express the awesomeness of God in an age when "the popular notion of God is too tame." The phrases will probably stay.

4. Words will be added to stress the "indwelling and empowering" nature of the Holy Spirit.

1. There was considerable discussion about how to express the balance between human responsibility and the enslaving power of sin.

1. Language will be added on Jesus' death on the cross and forgiveness of sin (to balance the draft's focus on freedom from the bondage of sin).

1. There was considerable debate about "Disciples avoid lawsuits"--it was pointed out that lawsuits are sometimes necessary in order to collect insurance--but the phrase will stay.

2. In this article and several others, language will be added emphasizing concern for the poor and efforts to correct injustice.

3. Efforts were made to clarify "Disciples maintain sexual chastity and marital faithfulness and reject illicit premarital, extramarital, and homosexual behavior." There seemed little disagreement over the MB position but more over how this sentence should be phrased so that it would not be misunderstood. (For instance, rejecting "illicit homosexual behavior" does not mean that some homosexual sexual activity is "licit" or acceptable.)

4. More language will be added about the joy of discipleship.

1. There was discussion on whether a section on "Singleness" appropriately affirms singleness without being condescending.

2. There was discussion about whether, in describing marriage, the right balance is achieved between male headship (expressed as "The relationshhip between Christ and the church provides a model for the relationship between a husband and wife") and "mutual submission". The consensus was that a good balance already exists in the wording.

3. There was discussion about what it means for the church to offer "hope and healing" in situations of divorce.

4. There was debate about "Parents are to discipline children kindly and gently"--Does this properly express disapproval of abuse while still upholding the parental responsibility to discipline their children?

1. Much debate focused on "We deplore the loss of life in the exercise of state-sanctioned violence against enemies and lawbreakers." It was suggested that even those who accept capital punishment could still deplore it, but others wondered if the statement denied the state's biblically defined right to use force. Others wondered if the statement adequately addressed other kinds of injustice imposed by the state. The statement was accepted with a number of suggested changes.

2. Is it necessary to keep the prohibition against swearing oaths when the real New Testament concern is truth-telling? It was generally felt that the prohibition should stay.

1. There was considerable debate about how to balance the prohibition against euthanasia with complex decisions about "pulling the plug" which are necessitated by medical advances that can prolong life indefinitely.

2. It was generally decided to keep in the prohibition against suicide as helpful in preventing suicides, although the pastoral application will offer advice on dealing compassionately with the surviving family members.

1. Should the article be more specific about tithing?

2. Should the call for "a lifestyle of simplicity" be dropped since we do such a poor job of achieving this? It was decided to keep the statement because we need the biblical commands in these areas even (or especially) when we fail to live up to them.

3. Should stewardship of time and energy also be included, or should this article focus only on stewardship of material resources since this is so needed in our day?

1. There was considerable discussion on the purpose of Sunday: Is it for rest when pastors often work hardest on that day? Is it for worship when some people have to work on Sunday and go to church on Saturday? To what extent does the concept of the sabbath day apply to the Lord's Day?

1. It was decided to rewrite "Elements of truth can be found in other religions" in order to stress that only Christianity expresses the full truth; the concern was that the statement as written might be misunderstood.

2. Similar concerns were expressed about the meaning of "God is free to communicate with people in ways that are beyond human comprehension."

3. There was considerable debate about the balance between "those who reject the gospel are under divine judgement" and "the fate of those who have never heard the gospel is in God's hands."

The remarkable thing about this consultation is that it was conducted exactly the way anabaptist theological discussions are supposed to be conducted.

1. Participants worked as a community, not as individuals or competing interest groups. They worked together to achieve the best confession, not to advance their own ideas. Toward the end of the consultation, Marvin Hein noted that, by his count, 66 participants had already spoken from the floor. No individual or group dominated discussion.

2. The consultation demonstrated that Mennonite Brethren really are a biblical people. Time after time, the phrases were heard, "What does the Bible say?" or "That's biblical." Time after time, delegates quoted from memory or read Bible verses to suggest changes and additions. The discussion demonstrated a very high degree of Bible knowledge on the part of the assembled Mennonite Brethren leaders. It was mentioned several times in the closing session how productive the process itself had been. Virtually every participant left with a higher knowledge and understanding of the Bible and Christian theology. It was an education to be there.

3. The discussion was characterized by humility, mutual submission, love and peace. In a moving moment in the final session, Saskatchewan pastor Arnie Armstrong said that he does not come from an MB background, but that he was very impressed by the open, civil discussion and was very pleased with how Mennonite Brethren had worked together at something that can be very difficult.

Similarly, Jean Théorêt of Quebec noted that Mennonite Brethren sometimes think their tradition is a burden but that church life is actually much harder for Quebec Mennonite Brethren, who have no strong Christian tradition: "I wish many of our people could be here and see how delicate issues are processed in a spirit of brotherhood."

Considering the criticism the first draft of the Confession had received, BFL chair Lynn Jost noted that his daughter had misunderstood him to say that he was going to Calvary and he wondered if the misunderstanding was prophetic. However, instead of being crucified, Jost and his BFL colleagues were praised and thanked by participant after participant for their hard work and their spirit of humility in accepting corrections to their draft. JC

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