Letters to the editor

"Leadership: Where to from here?" (Nov. 6) made me reflect on my own past experiences in lay leadership in the church (not Mennonite Brethren). I often have thought the enclosed poem I wrote should be read and reflected upon before "church business meetings":

Once I wanted to be a mighty oak,
Tall and strong, in God's glorious yoke.

Given a licence to preach and to teach,
There even were some that Providence did reach.
Times were good and friendships sweet
As we shared in this heavenly treat.

Then the politics of church came in.
Many a Christian has committed this sin.
Feelings were hurt, and egos were soaring.
When it came to God's Word, people were snoring.

The pastor in his way tried to intimidate,
And the status quo gang fought to legislate.
Many that were there were charmed by delusion,
But God was not authoring this hellish confusion.

Human character and human pride
Give one sure result: a spiritual slide.
Many of my friends that I once had
Have faded away; it makes me sad.

A mighty oak I wanted to be.
But no more, it's too hard you see. . . .

I don't belong on that leadership tree.
I'm just a little buttercup, and that is me.
I may be different, but yet I know
I'm part of His forest and this is so.

Name withheld

Minority might be right

"Responding to a pattern of arguments (Aug. 28) gives 13 reasons why the MB Church should exclude congregations which publicly welcome and affirm gay and lesbian persons. We believe it would be a serious error to dismember churches from our conferences because they have taken a position toward gay and lesbian persons which differs from that held by the majority.

We, along with thousands of other straight, gay and lesbian Mennonites, think that our beloved church is wrong in its position on homosexuality. The biblical injunctions against homosexuality can only be properly understood in the light of the context in which they were written. What seems right in one culture and time may make little sense in a new context. It behooves God's people to distill the essence of their faith from contemporary expressions of their life together.

We urge you to remain open to the possibility that the majority in our church may not be right in its interpretation of Scripture on this matter. We as a minority accept the fact that we don't always have it right either. We respect those who may not agree with us.

There is no conspiracy against the Mennonite Church. There is no advocacy of loose morality for anyone. There is no grandstanding as victims, nor are there cynical PR tactics in the work we do. The assumptions you make feel to us like hurtful accusations.

Perhaps if we could accept that we are all imperfect and, like Paul, see through a glass darkly, we could find room in our churches and conferences for all who are God's children by faith, even when there are differences in some areas of our understanding of what it means to be faithful.

Victor Fast,
On behalf of the Mennonite Parent Support Group of Ontario
London, Ont.

I was baptized in August 1939. After our return from the Belgian Congo, I served along with other brethren without remuneration. We called ourselves ministers, not pastors. We were brothers among brethren, who came out of the local church.

In the Nov. 6 Herald, I read that we are now a democracy. What happened to our church? Obviously, we are not on the same level anymore since we import and pay the pastor. I know of only one church that has consistently selected its pastors out of its own ranks, but it is not an MB church. There is another church that is calling a number of its young men to serve in the ministry without pay along with their pastor, but it is not MB church. We deplore the fact that not enough of our members are willing to enter the ranks of the ministry. We were recruited and encouraged by the older ministers. I don't see that happening under the paid pastor system.

Another issue is whether the church should have a church council or board of elders. I think the system that will give the pastor the freest hand will be chosen. Since only the members that meet the pastor's approval can be presented by the nominating committee, the number of those who can participate is limited. As one member put it, "You have to belong to the ‘in’ group." Others will label that as a mark of leadership on the pastor's part.

Since we are hiring so many of our pastors from denominations that have no knowledge of the history of the Mennonite Brethren Church, and our own members study in non-MB schools, I foresee that it will be only a matter of time until we will need neither church council nor board of elders because the pastor will be in complete control. We have given up on being a brotherhood and become a democracy. I doubt if we will be able to stop on that slippery slope.

Theodor C. Martens,
Altona, Man.

"Inspired to give sacrificially" (Nov. 20) is full of emotional absurdities. The article is typical American marketing used to gain an advantage.

A Russian general came to Saskatoon in November and told how wonderful Americans and Canadians are. The collection plate was full of money to buy Bibles for the Russian military. If all the "Bible" stories were added up, the bases would be covered a foot deep by now. Meanwhile, ongoing audited programs in Russia go short-funded. People will sure pay for the ambience of the occasion.

Obviously, the smart folks left the money bag at home, brought some $5 and $10 bills and watched the show. The treasurer now needs a garage sale or a pawn shop—the waste from selling rings, guitars and used laptops is high.

Real giving is done quietly, as demonstrated by an old woman acquaintance who died recently. She systematically lived on little and gave most of her pension money on a regular basis. Proper giving comes when we are inspired by prayer and motivated to systematically work harder and live on less.

Phil Dyck,
Langham, Sask.

I am excited to see where God leads after I planted some seeds. In late November, I went to seven stores in Saskatoon that carry the Ouija board and shared my experience with Ouija boards, gave them copies of the Oct. 9 Encounter and explained why the product is dangerous. There is a good book by Edmund Guess The Ouija Board: An Introduction to the Occult.

I know God in heaven cares deeply for us and wants to help those being deceived. Please pray for the stores that I contacted, as they will be making decisions about carrying the Ouija board this next year (WalMart, Toys-R-Us, Dufferin, Zellers, Superstore, KB Toys, Kmart, . They sent the package I put together to the head buyers in Toronto or Quebec.

Jodi Kozan,
Saskatoon, Sask.

Return to the M.B. Herald Vol. 38, No. 2 Home Page