Are evangelicals today undermining the gospel by forgetting the nature of evil? Is it possible that we are witnessing the development of what once would have been a contradic tion in terms — romantic or sentimental gospel?
Purging The Poisened Well Within By Nathan Hatch
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¥ T E LIVE in a day of evangelical optimism. A born-again President speaks of a government “as good and honest and decent and competent and compassionate and filled with love as are the American people.” The thriving evangelical book market offers a steady diet of positive in spiration, spiritual uplift, and successful Christian living. Evangelical visionaries, building multi-million dollar enterprises in television, church growth, and educa tion, have latched onto an upbeat style that is more than vaguely reminiscent of Norman Vincent Peale and Dale Carnegie. One of these pastors recently defined faith as building self-confidence, resisting negative thoughts, and tapping the limitless possibilities within ourselves. In a similar vein, a prominent evangelist explained that what keeps peo ple away from Christ is not hardness of heart but simply a misunderstanding of what He has to offer. Whatever its merits, this approach to Christianity raises serious questions for evangelicals. Most disturbing is a view of human nature that differs greatly from what Christians in the past believed. Such evangelical forebears as Luther, Wesley, Whitefield, Edwards, and Finney would have been amazed to hear that the people of any nation were inclined to good rather than evil. Similarly, they would have winced to hear the gospel explained only as a soothing message of comfort, forgiveness, acceptance, and peace of mind. These evangelicals of another day demonstrated that the majesty of God’s grace could not be seen without having first peered deep into what Augustine called mankind’s “radical apostasy.” The gospel does whisper peace “in strains as sweet as angels use,” declared William Cowper; but only after the “violated law” has spoken out its thunder. Evangelicals in the past agreed, likewise, that resistance to the gospel stemmed from a
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far more radical problem than lack of information: “The last place to which a sinner ever betakes himself for relief is to Jesus Christ,” said Charles G. Finney, “Sinners had rather be saved in any other way in the world. They had rather make any sacrifice, go to any expense, or endure any suffering, than just throw themselves as guilty lost rebels upon Christ alone for salvation ... It cuts up all their self-righteousness, and annihilates their pride.” Are evangelicals today undermining the gospel by forgetting the nature of evil? Is it possible that we are witnessing the development of what once would have been a contradiction in terms - a romantic or sentimental gospel? Promoting evangelism or bolstering self-esteem may seem far easier if you represent man’s plight as a mere fly in the ointment rather than a poisoned well. Yet glib sentimentalism may distort the essence of our faith.
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I ’ J. O BE sure, no evangelical church or organization has changed its creeds. But that is not the issue. Doctrinal statements have always moved snail-like in relation to what people actually believe and practice. The gospel delivered from our pulpits today may not reflect the gospel in our statements of faith. The gospel understood in the pew may not equal the gospel proclaimed so simply and powerfully by the revered fathers of the faith. We can isolate three symptoms of a debased romantic piety. Justification by faith, reliance on the Bible alone, conservative theology, personal rather than social ethics - all of these receive some attention in discussions of what it means to be a “born again” Christian. Yet, ask the question, “What does it mean to be an evangelical?” Then we hear much about a living
relationship with Christ, a faith of the heart rather than of the head; of the bornagain experience itself, a point-in-time conversion or awakening; and of the evangelistic zeal that compels those who have been born again to share their faith and to win the lost. Piety, conversion, evangelism—all have long been evangelical distinctives. But scant attention is given to the burning issue that Luther, Wesley, Whitefield, or Edwards faced in clarifying what it meant to be an evangelical, They believed that human nature was fallen, and that the Bible’s view of man forsook glib moralism and took seriously “the chartless darkness of the human heart.” However prone we are to see the sternness of the law and the sweetness of the gospel as opposites, the classic evangelical message was that the experience of the latter depended entirely on first experiencing the former. The majestic Reformation view of grace followed, not accidentally, a spiritual diagnosis that sin was no mild disease of the soul. It was a cancer that demanded radical surgery. The evangelical awakening of the eighteenth century again brought into sharp relief the paradox of the gospel: that it must crush selfrighteousness before uplifting the contrite; that it must root out self centeredness before offering consolation; that it must kill off self-will before unveiling the power to live by. “For the law must be preached to self-righteous sinners,” said George Whitefield. “We must (beware) of healing before we see sinners wounded lest we should say peace, peace, where there is no peace, Secure sinners must hear the thundering of Mount Sinai, before we bring them to Mount Zion .... Every minister must be a Boanerges, a son of thunder, as well as a Barnabas, a son of consolation.” THE MESSENGER
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We live in a culture dominated by the
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quest for peace of mind, self-fulfillment, and self-sufficiency. The tracts for our times are the smash best sellers I'm O.K.: You're O.K., Your Erroneous Zones (a self-help pep talk). Pulling Your Own Strings, and Looking Out for Number 1. By any standard the message in these books is light years removed from the call of men like Wesley, who argued that the gospel applied only to “mere sinners, in wardly and outwardly self-destroyed, bringing nothing to God but ungodliness only, pleading nothing. .. but sin and misery.” Yet what seems to be in the works today is a convenient marriage of evangelical piety and self-help. This is a union, moreover, based on the assump tion that it makes little difference if we replace biblical concepts of moral pover ty, selfish blindness, and spiritual nakedness with the more fashionable psy chological notions of fear, frustration, and anxiety. All, of course, without damaging the gospel one iota. The promoters of this marriage seem to say that nothing is lost when traditional ideas are put into a modern idiom. Isn’t it an improvement over the classical evangelical contention that selfsatisfaction, however religious, amounted to shaking a clenched fist at heaven to say confused people can relieve their nagging guilt by coming to Christ? Isn’t it an improvement when we picture faith today as a request that Christ overcome our mistakes and remake our lives instead of an admission of foul revolt and utter helplessness? In practice, many evangelicals contend that such changes are nothing more than going the second mile to make the gospel meaningful in the modern world. Is it possible, rather, that what may have begun as sensitive communication of the gospel is fast becoming a misconstruction of the same? _ ’ I ’ A IME and again the gospel has broken in upon people and left them startled, amazed, even dumbstruck that God has acted so mightily on their behalf, Some of the finest hymns in the English language were written to reflect this questioning sense of wonder. “Isn’t all of this just too good to be true?” We hear Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, and Samuel Davies saying:
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And can it be that I should gain An interest in the Savior’s bloods Died He for me. mho caused His pain? For me, ivho Him to death pursued^
OCTOBER 12, 1979
Why does the gospel seem dull, insipid, even trivial today? . . . We ■have removed... the drama from salvation by underplaying the plight of mankind and overbilling the potential of persons to achieve their own self-fulfillment in Christ. The promise of self-acceptance, power, and status has mesmerized us. --•
Alas! and did my Savior bleed, And did my Sovereign die! Would He devote that sacred head For such a ivorm a.s H In ivonder lost, u'ith trembliny joy. We take the pardon of our God; Pardo)i for crimes of deepest dye, A pardon bouyht mith Jesus' blood: Who is a pardoning God like Thee! Or who ha.s grace so rich and free!
These deep emotions welled up within persons who had seen their lives become part of a profound and majestic drama, They could never get over it. To have been apprehended as a traitor and marched in shame to the gallows only to find a new verdict read: full pardon and a royal decree of adoption. To have relived over and over the physician’s stark diagnosis, terminal and incurable, only to wake up healthy. To have known the anguish of thirst and starvation in the desert, only to discover cool milk and rich, sweet honey, To have been ostracized as a stranger in the land, only to find the welcome embrace of family and friends. Here is the drama of the gospel. Why does the gospel seem dull, insipid. even trivial today? We have removed the drama from salvation by underplaying the plight of mankind and overbilling the potential of persons to achieve their own self-fulfillment in Christ. The promise of self-acceptance, power, and status has mesmerized us. We don’t want to be loneb’ or anxious. And if Christ can give us what we ask and remove what we fear, we’ll sing “He’s everything to me.” We tell ourselves that by accepting Christ we will no longer yearn for anything. Yet evangelicals who are counseled and coddled, stroked and soothed stumble when the gifts cease. We may have once thought that emphasizing sin dulled the splendor of grace. Self-absorbed evangelicals are learning that those who have been forgiven little also have a desensitized palate to taste grace. As evangelicals in the past knew a sense of wonder that we do not, they also were gripped by a fear we don’t know, They realized that the most perverse form of evil did not appear in debauchery,
blasphemy, and drunkenness, but in the smug and pious smiles of the selfrighteous. The Puritan Thomas Hooker insisted that the real “hellish nature” of sin was that persons in its grip often became outwardly more decent and up right. Following our Lord’s blunt asser tions about the whited sepulchre of Pharisaism, evangelicals have long considered the heart most desperately wick ed when, giving little appearance of evil, it smugly dismissed the indictment of be ing “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” When counterfeit faith was considered a distinct possibility, a different light was shed on the process of conversion and doc trine of assurance. The danger was that a person would assent to justification by faith but never relinquish that deep impulse to trust in himself and his own morality. Deceitful as it is, the heart could exert complicated gymnastics in order to avoid the admission of moral bankruptcy. Above all, then, the gospel had to mount a frontal assault on a self righteousness, as Luther emphasized in the introduction to his commentary on Romans—the proximate instrument of Wesley’s conversion: “The object of this Epistle is to destroy all wisdom and works of the flesh no matter how important these may appear in our eyes or those of others, and no matter how sincere and earnest we might be in their use.” Those who meted out comfort, furthermore, had to do so with great care, lest someone assent to the gospel in selfrighteousness and never come to real faith. We are so busy going in the opposite direction, removing every possible inconvenience that one might have to becoming aChristian, that the danger of self-righteousness is hardly a fleeting nuisance. Why shouldn’t everyone have new life in Christ? If we could just upgrade the banquet a bit and advertise it better, why wouldn’t everyone want to come? It hasn’t crossed our minds, apparently, that some people already may be filled and have need of nothing. To make matters worse, many evangelicals glibly offer assurance of faith (chapter and verse to build an iron-clad case) to (’out'd, on page!)
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This man did not blame himself for long years of failure. He had the audacity and the tenacity to hang onto his dream and his faith, while staying alongside of God till He brought it all to pass. All too often you and I Z>/.scourage instead of f/ztcourage our children, spouse, colleague, pastor, brother, sister. It was said of Jesus that He encouraged people. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil...” (Acts 10:38). On the opposite side of the team we have the devil. When God asked him where he had been, he said, “I’ve been going about on the earth ...” (Job 1:7) and Peter fills us in a little further when he says, “The devil prowls around like a roar ing lion/angel of light, seeking someone to devour.” All too often we forget that we too either act like Jesus or like the devil. We go about doing good or we go about dcrouring. What am I when I talk to my children, Dwcourager or Discourager? What about when we talk of certain brothers or sisters in the church, or about our neighbours’ kids, or our pastor, or perhaps a businessman? Do I leave with peo ple what in actuality is becoming my true epitaph - He was an “E” or a “D”? It’s your choice NOW! God will bring to pass according to your faith and dreams. Even if you have to wait another 40 years!
New Series
Straight Talk WHAT ARE YOU . . . “E” OR “D”? by Mel Koop Bruce Larson in his book, “The One and Only you,” tells of a renewal conference in the church of one of his friends. Things were really happening at all levels of this con gregation’s life. People were healed, lives were changed, laymen were being called into ministries, and literally the people were “gossiping” the gospel in one form or another wherever they went. The amazing thing was that the pastor had been there for the last forty years. So one day Bruce asked him why it had taken so long for his church to come alive. “Oh,” He said, “that’s no mystery. I just had to stay here long enough to bury all the people who were against renewal.” Now, that’s evaluation that few of us are impressed with. In fact, a profound biblical truth is hidden within - “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he irill not dejxiii from //’’(Proverbs 22:6).
Letters MORE INFORMATION NEEDED I read with some interest the article, “About Divorce,” by George W. Peters. The article deals with a subject on which very clearly in today’s world there is not
letter an additional help. John Toews 1310 Walker St. Swift Current, Sask, S9H 1H2
CONTRIBUTORS: ’ MfZ/m»TH(f7c7r“Purging the Poisoned Well Within,” is assistant professor of
unanimity of thought and interpretation. It is an area in which there is much anguish in spirit especially among Christians. Mr. Peters’ article goes a long way in trying to shed light on the topic from a biblical perspective but leaves the reader without additional basic informa tion. However, I do believe the Social Concerns Committee would do well to also have published in The Messenger, if possible, some of the basic principles presented in a letter written by Bill Gothard in which he addresses the con tent to the very same issue. The letter is entitled “Our Most Important Messages Grow Out of Our Greatest Weaknesses” and there is a contrasting position in the letter which I feel should be presented also. Those having read this article would, I am sure, find Bill Gothard’s
Pastor Needed A small church in a small town with a large community around it is looking for a pastor with a large vision. Residence is available. All readers of this ad are encouraged to pray with us about this need. Contact: Arthur Plett Box 132 Arden, Man. ROJ OBO Ph. 368-2463
history at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The article is copyrighted by Christianity Today 1979 and used by permission. „ Larrg.. and Pearl Friesen (Morris Fellowship), “First Impressions,” began their first term of service in Mexico recently. They are with the EMC Board of Missions. Ereh/n Plett (Prairie Rose) is 'nyolved in Bible teaching and camp ministries in Spain with the Bible Club Movement. “Indian Visit Brings Response” was contributed by Dare and Judg Schmidt (Rosenort) who are serving in Paraguay with the EMC Board of Missions. Lester and Darlene Olfert (Swift Current) returned to Nicaragua recently for another term of service. Mary Koop (Kleefeld) is serving in Japan with the New Tribes Mission. COVER PHOTO: Southern Manitoba has had beautiful fall weather. The news media also in forms us that harvesting of grain is large ly completed. Indeed we have much to be thankful for. As I dug my potatoes in the country on Thanksgiving Day I also had these young ladies pose for me in our corn patch which soon after was also uprooted. (I wonder how much longer they’ll pose for grand pa!)
THE MESSENGER is the publication of the Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Its purpose is to inform, instruct, and inspire. Inform as to wha. is going on in the Conference: instruct in Godliness and victorious livirig; inspire to earnestly contend for the faith. All correspondence should be addressed to the Editor D. K. Schellenberg. Box 1268. Steinbach. Manitoba. ROA 2A0. Letters, articles, art and poetry are welcomed. Views expressed in Letters to the Editor are not necessarily those of the editor nor of the paper Unpublished articles are not returned except by request. Subscription: Members pay through their church. Non-members pay $2.00 per year. Send subscription money to The Messenger. Box 1268. Steinbach. Manitoba ROA 2A0. THE MESSENGER is published every other week by The Evangelical Mennonite Conference. Board of Education and Publication. Box 1268. Stein bach. Manitoba. ROA 2A0. Second Class Mail. Registration Number 0591. Undeliverable copies, change of address and new subscriptions should be mail ed to the above address.
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THE MESSENGER
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From the Editor THE CHRISTIAN AND WAR
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“Now that we have peace in our country we don’t hear anything about non-resistance anymore.” This remark overheard at a Bible study the other day decided me on this editorial. I also remembered I had written something on the subject some time ago which I include further on. Where does the Christian stand when demands of the state and conscience conflict? With people like Billy Graham questioning the mad arms race it should be easier than ever to let our position be made known. When asked, “How would you describe the changes in your thinking on the nuclear arms question and what factors would you cite as important in prompting those changes,” this was the answer he gave as quoted in Sojourners and United Church Observer. It has only been relatively recently I have given as much attention to this subject as it deserves. I suppose there have been a number of reasons why I have come to be concerned about it. For one thing, during my travels in recent years I have spoken to a number of leaders in many countries. Almost to a person they have been concerned and pessimistic about the nuclear arms race. Secondly, I have been helped by other Christians who have been sensitive to this issue. I guess I would have to ad mit that the older I get the more aware I am of the kind of world my generation has helped shape, and the more con cerned I am about doing what I can to give the next genera pi tion at least some hope for peace. I have 14 grandchildren lyself, ““Wt now, and I asked myself, What kind of world are they go ing to face?” Thirdly, I have gone back to the Bible to restudy what it says about the responsibilities we have as peacemakers. I have seen that we must seek the good of the whole human race, and not just the good of any one nation or race. There have been times in the past when I have, I suppose, confused the kingdom of God with the American way of life. I am grateful for the heritage of our country, and thankful for many of its institutions and ideals. But the kingdom of God is not the same as America, and our nation is subject to the judgment of God just as much as any other nation. Whatever one may say about the state, Paul still asks us to pray for it. As well we should be grateful for the words of the Secretary of State for External Affairs of Canada in ad dressing the United Nations recently. Among other things he made the following remarks: Other related threats to our physical safety continue. The arms race, with all its costs and inherent dangers bounds apace. The spread of nuclear technology, with all the benefits it can bring, has not been paralleled by an equal commitment to a renunciation of the development of nuclear explosive capability. We know that certain states are even today working to achieve mastery in this field, not for the increased well-being its energy can bring to the peo ple, but for the creation of an explosion — one that will quake the hearts of peace-loving people everywhere. Surely they can expect better of us. According to the teaching of the New Testament all the redeemed belong to one family. All Christians are brothers whatever their color or geographical location. The unity must be dearer to us than patriotism; the love of the brethren must be more than the love of our fellow coun trymen. The Kingdom of Christ should be the real country of every Christian, to this should be his chief allegiance. Members of that kingdom, Christ’s brothers, “Christ’s little children”, no matter in what nation found, should be dearer to us than citizens of our own country who are not members of
OCTOBER 12, 1979
that country. If this is so how can we participate or condone this slaughter within that fellowship of the redeemed? Because surely, there are also Christians on the “enemy” side. When war involves Methodists stabbing Methodists. Bap tists shooting Baptists, Presbyterians blowing Presbyterians to bits. Catholics annihilating Catholics, when these beastly deeds are performed at the behest of a physically safe leadership, generally for gain but hid by a propaganda of professedly noble ideals, than I am sure that war is contrary to Christian principles. Among the reformers were the Anabaptists, the only ones who clearly saw the implications of the Christian ethic of love if followed to its logical conclusion. H. S. Bender here writes: “The third element in the Anabaptist vision was the ethic of love and nonresistance as applied to all human relationships. The brethren understood this to mean complete abandonment of all warfare, strife and violence, and taking of human life. It should also be remembered that they held this principle (of nonresistance) in a day when both Catholic and Protestant churches, not only endorsed war, as an instrument of state policy, but employed it in religious conflicts. The Christian is also one whose life is characterized by forgiveness. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to the in dividual. Christ when He was reviled, reviled not again but committed Himself to Him who judges faithfully. The supreme example of forgiveness is displayed by Christ on the cross where He prays for His tormentors, saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” The Christian again is one who should be characterized by building up rather then tearing down and destroying. War is destroying men’s lives. How can I have a part in that? The Christian is one who loves his fellow man and should seek his eternal salvation and not his suddenly being cut off from this earth. The Christian is characterized by healing rather than maim ing; binding up rather than wounding. This is borne out in the parable of the Good Samaritan. After the telling of this inci dent Jesus says to the lawyer, “Go and do thou likewise.” Christian pacifism then, in contrast to humanistic pacifism, is rooted in the love of Christ. “Christian pacifism is a great and needed witness, but whenever it is separated from the love of Christ it seems to inevitably become cruel and bitter” (Elton Trueblood). On the other hand when rooted in the love of Christ it will remain calm and serene and submissive, show ing forth Christ. War is sin and has come into the world as a result of the Fall. Man is not created just to be violently cut off in his best years as in time of war. The Psalmist states that the days of our years are three score years and ten. This does not presup pose being killed in battle. In spite of all contrary training, conscience in the individual continues to operate in time of war. One soldier who had been faced with the kill-or-be-killed choice and whose grenades had taken several Japanese lives, wept as he said, “I simply cannot forget their young faces.” Who would want to live with such a conscience? And many come back to life after the war. But the sin too can find for giveness in the shed blood of Christ. Christian pacifism may present many problems but for the person who wants to follow Christ all the way, there is no other way. The ethic of love and nonresistance must be applied to all human relationships. This is what following Christ, in the true sense, means. — DS
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Missions the people. For two months food was dis tributed to needy families. The Mennonite churches here took responsibility for nine communities and assisted in a few others. This was a total of some 500 families. The people were very grateful for the rice, beans, corn and cooking oil which we were able to give them. At times we were able to give our powdered milk and sugar as well. Most of the food was obtained from CEPAD (a Nicaraguan Evangelical Relief Organization). Then we took it out to the communities where it was distributed by the church or a committee. Because of the heavy rains we were unable to drive into Colama so the people walked out 10 km. to the highway to get their food. We were glad that we could help. The food dis tribution has terminated but with the help of MCC we plan on moving into a rehabilitation program. Phil and Lori Bontrager have come to Nicaragua to coordinate this program. The churches have come back to their former spiritual enthusiasm and atten Workers at the CEPAD storehouse. From here food was transported to many dance is back to normal again. It was communities throughout Nicaragua. good to see 96 enthusiastic young people at a retreat at Camp Maranata from NICARAGUA September 7-9. God blessed us together as we sought new spiritual heights. God has been so good to us in allowing us to come back to Nicaragua. During the There was a lot of destruction on every beginning of July we wondered whether it side. Factories had been burned and would be possible but God opened the Enthusiasm in the Churches bombed, stores and shopping centres door. We are settled back in our house. IBienvenidos a Nicaragua Libre! were empty from the looting, residences Lyndon and Danny are studying at the (Welcome to Liberated Nicaragua!) That were shot up and some were burned. The boarding school in Honduras. We are oc was our greeting when we returned. The streets, however, had been cleared and cupied with preaching, teaching and bright red and black flags (the Sandinista were now filled with celebrating people. evangelism. Pray that God would give us wisdom in knowing how best to make use symbol) were hanging everywhere, The tension and fear were gone. Upon arrival it was necessary to con of the opportunities to serve Him. sometimes beside the Nicaraguan flag Lester and Darlene Olfert centrate on meeting the physical needs of and sometimes alone.
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Welcome!
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Preaching at youth retreat under a plastic tabernacle at Camp Maranata, Nicaragua. PAGE 6
Unloading relief supplies at the highway 10 kms. from its destination. THE MESSENGER
More on Nicaragua
After making smaller packages the group was ready for the 4-hour walk through mud and valley, over the hills to Colama.
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Widespread destruction in the city of Estelf. Ravages of the war are still evident all over.
room houses with several children. One
First Impressions
peculiarity one notices is that although
.. 7 ,■ r. 7- I n-7 7 m 7 ■ Need,tor Solid Bible Teaching We would like to relate to you some of our first impressions as we entered the country of Mexico for the first time in June 1979. Crossing the border was a pleasant sur prise! Officials were friendly and language created no problem. Travelling was made enjoyable by the rolling, slight ly mountainous scenery and the good highway. The weather in June was hot and dry. We arrived at our destination of Chihuahua City which has a population of about 600,000. Its geographical size is relatively small because of close quarter housing, small yards and large families. It is a beautiful, clean city, described by many Mexican people as being the all around best city in Mexico to live in. It has modern shopping centers similar to VVooico and Sears in’canadia'and almost all foods are available here equal to those in Canada with some exceptions being certain dairy products and, of course, “forma vorscht” (farmer sausage). We have also been impressed with the driving in the city. It is slow, orderly, well patrolled, contrary to the norm of the country! We have found the people generally clean and sharply dressed. Stares, stares, stares! We definitely arec made aware ui of siaic&i vve uviiiiitviy iiiduv awaic
the people do without a refrigerator for financial reasons in this hot humid climate, each home has a TV set.
Our first job here was teaching DVBS in Cerro de la Cruz. Pearl and I shared a class of up to 30 two- to eight-year-olds in a room with working space of less than 50 square feet! The air did get a bit stale after a while in the 100“ temperature! At present there are two small organiz ed groups of believers with two regular services per week each, in opposite sides of the city. In Cerro de la Cruz there are four or five regular nationals plus 20 to 30 children. In the CTM area there are seven to ten adults, also with numerous children. There are other children’s and ladies’ group meetings on a weekly and a bi-weekly basis. We feel that the need of our national Christians is participating in solid Bible teaching and also exemplary Christian living by missionaries. Our .personal concerns right now are £ still learning and using the language and, since we are teaching the children at home, that God will supply the wisdom and patience needed. Larry and Pearl Friesen
PARAGUAY -,
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the fact that we are still foreigners, es- Indian ViSIt BringS ROSpOnSe
pecially with light-haired children and a foreign license plate. But we have also found the people to be friendly, helpful and ever patient with our poor Spanish. We noticed that the majority of our EMC work is concentrated among the lower class people in the poor sections of the city. Some of our believers live in oneOCTOBER 12, 1979
us on a recent visit to the Paraguayan Chaco. The reason for his wishes - he wanted to be able to hear the Christian radio station ZP-30; he wanted recordings of Indian Christians singing songs during their services; and he wanted to be obedient to the Lord in baptism as he had seen among many Indians in the Chaco. During the week we spent in the Chaco, together with two Indians, Dietrich Lepp went all out to show them the various aspects of Indian life in the settlements there. They covered nearly 500 kilometers seeing development in economic, social and religious areas. They came back very enthusiastic. Now, only a week later, we find that though their personal lives have been enriched, they feel more than ever the apathy and even opposition to bring ing about changes in their community.
So what do we do? We wait for ZP-30 to increase its power so the average radio here can pick it up. We order some cassette recordings of Christian songs sung by the Chaco Indians to play for them on our cassette. And we plan for a baptismal service on Christmas Day. This is an answer to prayer, that Indian Christians on Santa Teresa begin to step out for the Lord. Our Sunday service included several testimonies, one decision and one rededication to Jesus Christ. Also we plan to continue instructions with two week day evening classes. Praise the Lord and keep on praying. Dave and Judy Schmidt
I)i Obedience to the Lord
What do we do with a fellow who asks for three things in this order: a better radio, a cassette player, and to be baptized on December 25? These wishes were expressed by an Indian who accompanied
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SPAIN
Another Test of Faith More StaffNeeded
Left to right: Mr. Toguchi, Mary Koop, Miss Hiraiwa.
Have you ever thought that you were fully trusting in the Lord concerning some specific need, and then when things did not work out the way you thought they would, you suddenly were made to realize that you had really been hoping in a possible solution or person that you knew of? For some time now we have been much concerned about the need of more staff here at Bethel and especially in the past year it had become ever more obvious that because of age and poor health Maria would have to leave very soon. Several times we have heard of, or come in con tact with, people who showed interest in coming to fill this need but, for some reason or other, things never worked out. We kept praying and I, in particular, often prayed, “Lord, someone has to come very soon because Marla can’t go on and I don’t know what Ruth is going to do when she leaves, for they are like mother and daughter.” And then, one day, after summer camps were over the inevitable news came like a blow to me when Ruth told me that the Lord had opened the door for her to serve in the Evangelical Hospital in Barcelona and that both she and Maria would be leaving this winter in January. There was not much sleep for me that first night and the whole matter weighed so heavily upon my heart that in the early morning hours I cried to the Lord for some word of reassurance. It
seemed that instead of more help, even Miss Tanaka JAPAN
Go Ye Therefore Obeying His Com mand Before our Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven. He commanded His disciples to preach the Gospel to every creature. The South River Church believes that this command was also spoken to us. We rejoice to be a witness for our Lord in South River (Jerusalem), North River (Judea), Agano (Samaria), and to the ends of the earth. . . . North River (Judea) After Miss Tanaka’s conversion last fall, we began to pray about starting a new work in her district. North River. The Gospel was preached over the P.A. system, gospel tracts and invitations were distributed. On April 1 we had our first meeting in the village hall. These meetings have continued every Sunday. A few people have started to come regular ly. PAGE 8
. . . Agano (Samaria) needs the Gospel! An elderly Christian lady from Tokyo moved here and is witnessing to her village people. . . . and to the ends of the earth Miss Tanaka finished her high school this spring, and soon entered nurses’ training at a local hospital which will be for about four years. Then, the Lord will ing, she hopes to enter Japan Christian College for her Bible training. Then what? If the Lord tarries, she plans to go to a poor, needy country as a missionary nurse. We are asking you to pray for her as she desires to follow the Lord in obey ing His command to go into all the world. We as the little church in the moun tains plan to press forward with the Gospel message here. We, too, need your prayers. Mary Koop
that which there was would be taken away. Bless the Lord for His faithfulness always! He gave me a word from Psalm 84:11, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will be withhold from them that walk uprightly.” I read it in Spanish and it reads, “no good thing will be withdraw,” and so I understood that this was not to be a loss but would somehow turn out to be gain. I rested in that wonderful promise. In the next weeks many thoughts went through my mind and I felt convinced that God would send someone before Maria and Ruth would leave. I started thinking of who it might be and how things would fit in. During our spring conference there was mention of an ex perienced couple that would be ap proached about coming at least tem porarily to do some major repair jobs here, and now word came through that they were likely going to come this fall, possibly for a year or more. Without me being aware of it, my hope was beginning next page please THE MESSENGER
to grow in the coming of that couple, well experienced in the ministry, administra tion, cooking - everything, except the language. But until the Lord supplied permanent staff they seemed like the ideal answer to the situation, and then came another feat offaith when the news came that they were not coming! My very first reaction was a sinking feeling and it was then that I realized that the Lord is in the business of teaching me what it means to fully trust Him! I had taken my eyes off Him and had begun to feel confi dent in a possible solution that I could see. I was walking by sight, not by faith. When I realized that, a prayer went up from my heart, “Lord, teach me to trust in you!” At the time of writing, I am not aware of anyone making definite plans to come and join me as personnel at this training center, but I do believe that God has the answer and He has prepared someone who, in His time, will come. How I thank the Lord for these lessons on faith. My prayer is that they will make me a more fit vessel for His use. Evelyn Plett
test of being in the presence of God,” J.I. Packer has said, “is that you either forget yourself or see yourself as a small, dirty object.” In our own day the growth of a form of piety that gives free rein to the ego is sufficient evidence that something fundamental has gone awry. Within the evangelical community to day numerous interest groups vie for attention, each laying out what seems to it the most biblical agenda for the church. Evangelism and missions, a Christian ap proach to social action and politics, a cor rect view of biblical authority, “body-life” within the local church, “inner healing” for the Christian psyche, the fullness of the Holy Spirit. All of these rightly de mand our attention in one way or another. But all too easily they assume that every Sunday school child, every per son in the pew, already knows the gospel and that the problems of the church today result from not fleshing out a biblical life style. Amid such a flurry of activity, we are in danger of losing sight of the foun dation of our faith: that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.®
Purging from page 3
anyone who raises the hand or who walks the aisle. The danger of counterfeit faith simply has evaporated, given our overriding assumption that human in stincts are oriented toward rather than away from truth. Although evangelicals in the past assumed that persons would do almost anything to avoid coming to Christ on his terms, we assume that they will do almost anything to find Him. The same romantic view of human nature is evident also in a form of Chris tian living that is shorn of self-doubt. Evangelicals have always stressed the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives; they have also recognized the danger of self-deception, what the Puritan John Cotton called “man’s perverse subtlety in inventing ways of backsliding.” We hear all too few sermons that begin to peel away the skin or husks of self-righteousness. We take our own piety far too seriously, never asking whether it has actually become a mask for self-interest. We forget that pride is the worst spiritual cancer and quenches the purifying work of the Spirit. “The real
JANZEN, Bertha
THIESSEN, David and Merna FIELD: Calgary, Alberta - EMC Board of Missions
FIELD: Paraguay — EMC Board of Missions
ADDRESS: 100 Pennsburg Way S.E., Calgary, Alta., T2A 2J5
ADDRESS: c.d.c. 166, Tres Palmas, Asuncion, Paraguay
HOME CHURCH: Calgary
HOME CHURCH: Kola
CHILDREN: Donita Gayle, Randall DAvid, Gareth Dalen
BIRTHDAY: May 20
BIRTHDAYS: David - March 22; Merna - June 29; Donita -
COMMENCEMENT OF MISSIONARY SERVICE: 1979
Oct. 13; Randall - Oct. 21; Gareth - Dec. 17
MINISTRY: Nursing
ANNIVERSARY: June 6
COMMENCEMENT OF MISSIONARY SERVICE: 1979
Bible Verse: "And being made perfect, he became the author of salvation to all
MINISTRY: Church planting Bible Verse: "Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his going forth is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3 ’1"““
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OCTOBER 12, 1979
If PAGE 9
Messenger News EVENTIDE ANNUAL MEETING
Proud cradle roll graduates, and prouder mothers! Left to right: Tammy Reimer and mother, Velma; Leon Plett and mother, Marge; LaDawn Penner and mother, Ir ma; jenny Brandt and mother, Miranda; Stephen Reimer and mother, Betty; Lorissa Doerksen and mother, Bev; jerry Penner and mother, Tina; Carlana Barkman and mother, Marcella. Missing from picture: Robert Brandt and mother, Linda; jonathan Loewen and mother, Maria; Anita Penner and mother, Irene; jamie Reimer and mother, Ann. SUNDAY SCHOOL PROMOTION
Blumenort, Man.; Sunday, August 26, was a glorious day - just perfect for the activities planned! Diverting from the traditional annual Sunda.v morning worship service with a Sunda.v school emphasis, Sunday school got promoted in an atmosphere of picnic baskets, lawn chairs, picnic blankets, green grass, blue sk,v and sunshine. After our regular service that morning most of us picked up our lunches from our cars and wandered off to our picnic site. After locating ourselves in family groups we enjoyed tomato sandwiches, butter tarts, a banana, or whatever else “Mom" had prepared that mor ning. After the younger generation had exerted a little energy and the older ones had had their
Enjoying her sandwich!
Emily Penner (right), extension Sun day school teacher in Anola, inter viewing her students, Vivian South and Carol Phillips, on what Sunday school means to them. PAGE 10
coffee we settled down for a short program. Wilfried Kopp led us in a few choruses to begin with. Our youth department was in charge of a skit in which they portrayed the “cycle of life.” David Reimer had some of our grade 1-3’s all confused about whether fall would really come after summer this year! But we all got the point about our learning from the errors of others who have gone ahead of us in our life’s cycle. The cradle roll graduation was of course thoroughly enjoyed by the adults as they watched some of the “unusual” but honest reactions of the two-year-olds as they received their diplomas and mortarboards. During the time of sharing by pupils and teachers alike of what Sunday school meant to them, I believe we were all convinced that Sun da.v school was a worthwhile effort. This Sun day school promotion event had turned out to be an enjoyable and meaningful diversion from the traditional!
Rosenort, Man.: Our young people had a worthwhile Christian Service night on August 22 when they travelled by bus to Stony Moun tain Penitentiary to sing and testify of their faith in Christ. The prisoners were ap preciative and talkative. The following weekend our youth par ticipated in a retreat at Moose Lake. Serving as speaker was Pastor Allan Meikle of Lowe Farm, whose own church was served by our pastor that Sunday. The senior choir went to the Union Gospel Mission on August 30. They also report having a blessed time. At Mission Nite August 26 Lome and Helen Kroeker reported on their work as houseparents at Murree Christian School in Pakistan. The Eventide Home annual meeting was held August 27 with fairly good participation. Mr. Henry R. Friesen, Sr., retired from the board of directors and Menno Reimer was elected to succeed him. The Home has un dergone extensive repair and renovations to the basement following the spring flood. This has involved much planning and red tape, and is still not quite completed. However, several former tenants returned to live in their base ment rooms in September. The main floor has been used since the beginning of July. The board and staff are to be commended for their enthusiasm, love and determination. Two of our oldest brethren, Mr. Peter W. Siemens and Mr. Peter E. Friesen, are waiting for their chance to also enter Eventide. Mr. Friesen was hospitalized for quite some time this summer, but is back with the John Warkentins at present. Mr. Siemens is staying with his children. Rev. Benn.v Eidse brought the message at our communion service on August 29. He es pecially stressed Christ’s love for us and our love for Him. Man.v of our young people are attending Bi ble school this year. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Brandt, Paul Loewen and Reg Reimer are at Briercrest; Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Friesen at Peace River; Judy Dueck at Okanagan; Vai Siemens at Columbia, and Wanda Eidse at Steinbach. Taking Charles’ place as youth leader is Lawrence Dueck. May the Lord be above all else in your lives as you stud.v and work for Him! Ernest and Elsie Funk and girls have moved into the Edward Friesen residence and are fellowshipping in our church. Ernest spoke to us on September 9 with the main thrust being to let God use us in His work, since that is the iiDfiHiil Christian life. Elsie spoke to the Ladies’ Fellowship on September 11 where she was honored at a grocer.v and miscellaneous shower. Welcome to our community and church (not to mention our beautiful Red River Valley)! Welcome also to Rodney Dueck who has been living in our community for quite some time, but became our church member follow ing his marriage to Sharon Barkman in June.
THE MESSENGER
The young couple are on our Sunday school staff. Recently hospitalized have been Mr. Peter L. Loewen, Mrs. Dick Heinrichs and Mrs. Abe Bartel, the latter having had gallstone surgery on September 27. Also Timmy Dueck and his cousins, Gerald and Clarice Dueck, were in hospital in September. Harvesting is now in full swing with good yields being reported. A great deal of effort is expended to get the crops in while it is possible to do so. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth labourers into Hin harvest field!
COLLEGE AND CAREER ACTIVITIES Crestview (Winnipeg): Since our Labour Day weekend campout the College and Career peo ple have met to evaluate this past year’s meetings and achievements, and will meet again on Sept. 30 to share and to discuss the topic, “Prayer.” The young people enjoyed a fall kick-off barbecue at the pastor’s home on Sept. 22. On Sunday, the 23rd, Henry Hiebert, public relations director at SBC, spoke to us in our worship service. That same evening Pastor Friesen presented his second message on “Stewardship,” which was followed by a farewell “coffee” for the Abe Krahns who are moving to Calgary. We are well into another autumn season and as a fellowship we anticipate and prepare for an array of activities. The nomination com mittee is compiling a list of people for the com ing church elections. The constitution com mittee is completing the write-up of a list of guidelines accepted by our church on Wednes day, Sept. 19. Annual committee reports are due on Oct. 7. Coming events for Crestview Fellowship include a communion service on Sept. 30, a Thanksgiving dinner on Oct. 14, the commencement of baptismal instruction classes on Oct. 21, and special meetings with Pete Broesky from Oct. 31 - Nov. 4. Beginning again soon will be mid-week family activities at the church for the duration of the winter. Since a new school year has begun we remember in a special way those who study away from home. Annemarie Kornelsen begins her second year at Briercrest Bible Institute. Debbie Zehr and John Kornelsen are in Grade 12 at the Mennonite Collegiate Institute. We want to pray for all of our students. We also think of Mrs. Mary Solnik from our congregation who has been hospitalized and undergoing tests for several weeks at the Con cordia Hospital. We pray for a complete recovery and that the Lord will supply suf ficient grace for Mary and her family. Dan and Elaine Zehr wish to announce the engagement of their eldest son, Byron, to Bar bara, daughter of Bernie and Margaret Funk. Byron and Barbara attend Home’Street Men nonite Church. Wedding banns for Leonard Klassen and Darlene Schmidt have been announced. The ceremony takes place on October 6. We rejoice with these two couples and their families.
OCTOBER 12, 1979
Rev. John and Clara Koop and family celebrated their silver wedding anniversary at the Kleefeld church on August 26. HERE AM I. SEND ME
Kleefeld, Man.: It’s exciting when the Lord answers prayers, especially when He calls for labourers, and they respond. Ron and Judy Goertzen left on August 31 for a teaching assignment in the Bahamas. An informal “come and go” for a farewell took place for them at our Kleefeld church on August 26. The ladies presented Judy with some Tupperware, but much more exciting was the fact that the Lord presented them with a little baby girl only two weeks before their departure. We felt it an honour when Rev. John and Clara Koop decided to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary at our Kleefeld church on August 26. Even though they have ministered in Kenora, Kamsack, MacGregor, and now in Vanderhoof, they still always felt they were coming home when they came to Kleefeld, since both John and Clara grew up here. After an interesting program, featuring a variety of good singing, and a devotional led by Rev. Mel Koop, a tasty meal was served to all the guests. We wish you many more happy years together! During July an exciting week of DVBS with stories, singing and crafts was organized by co ordinator Bette Smith. The closing program, where all 80 youngsters participated in a mini musical, directed by Ernest Dueck, was a delight and a blessing to see and hear. August 5 found forty of our young people camping close to Morden. Harold Block was their guest speaker. We appreciate mothers. We appreciate the “behind the scenes” work that they do. A
special tea was provided for our 31 Cradle Roll mothers. Capable babysitters made it possible for them to listen undisturbed while Judy (Kliewer) Goertzen related about the status of women in Saudi Arabia, where they have been stationed for the past few months. Death for a Christian is the beginning of a new life. We are bereaved and yet rejoice at the same time. Funeral services for Mrs. Maria Giesbrecht took place on July 26 in our church and for Mr. Jacob Koop on August 16.
Ron and Judy Goertzen left for a teaching assignment in the Bahamas on August 31. A farewell took place at the Kleefeld church on August 26.
MCC Meeting Concerning Indochina Refugees Date: October 27,1979 Timo: 7:30 p.m. Place: Pelly (Sask.) Town Hall Speakers: Waldo Neufeld, Winnipeg, MCC (Canada) Syd Derksen, Saskatoon, MCC (Sask.) A film will be shown. Everyone Welcomel
PAGE 11
PROGRAM FOR THE ANNUAL FALL CONVENTION OF THE NORTHERN FELLOWSHIP CHURCHES OF THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CONFERENCE Place: Pelly High School Auditorium Pelly, Sask,
Time: Sunday, October 28, 1979 Theme: ‘'The Blessings and Responsibilities of the Church"' Morning Session: 10:15 a.m. (Standard Time) Opening Remarks Chairman Song Service Scripture and Prayer Birch River Greetings from the EM Conference Ed Friesen Church Representation Endeavour Announcements Milton Fast Mission Spot Offering Prairie Rose Men Special Numbers Message “The Priviledged Body” John Kornelsen
Lunch Break — Bring your own bag lunch. Beverages will be provided. Afternoon Session: 2:15 p.m. Song Service Scripture and Prayer Creighton Church Representation Creighton Panel Discussion led by Harvey Kroeker “The Rights of the Child” Mission Spot Milton Fast
Offering and Announcements Birch River Church Representation Prairie Rose Men Special Numbers MCC Representation Waldo Neufeld “Boat People” Panel Discussion led by George Braun “Why Church Membership?” Closing Prayer Arabella Supper: All are invited to stay for supper which will be provided. Evening Session: 6:15 p.m. Song Service Hudson Bay Scripture and Prayer Hudson Bay Church Representation Endeavour Special Numbers Swan River Church Representation Ed Friesen Conference Representation Offering and Announcements Skit Young People from Arabella, Kamsack, Pelly Special Number Endeavour Message “The Responsible Body” John Kornelsen Closing Frank Braun
There rei.ll be a program for the children in the Pelly Chapel during the afternoon ses
sion.
Take advantage of the Conference and Missions personnel available for discussion and counselling: Rev. Ed Friesen and Rev. Milton Fast will be there for your benefit in between sessions, as well as Waldo Neufeld from the MCC. Offerings will be designated on a 50-50 basis between the EMC Missions and the Boat People. We hope to have Book, Missions, and MCC displays. PAGE 12
THE MESSENGER