The Messenger March 4, 1966

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THE WANING UTHORITY OF CHRIST IN THE CHURCHES By A. W. TOZER

Here is the burden of my heart; and while I claim for myself no special inspiration I yet feel that this is also the burden of the Spirit.

If I know my own heart it is love alone that moves me to write this. What I write here is not the sour ferment of a mind agitated by con­ tentions with my fellow Christians. There have been no such contentions. I have not been abused, mistreated or attacked by anyone. Nor have these observations grown out of any un­ pleasant experiences that I have had in my association with others. My relations with my own church as well as with Christians of other denomin­ ations have been friendly, courteous and pleasant. My grief is simply the result of condition which I believe to be almost universally prevalent among the churches. I think also that I should acknow­ ledge that I am myself very much involved in the situation I here de­ plore. As Ezra in his mighty prayer of intercession Included himself among the wrongdoers, so do I. “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to

lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.” Any hard word spoken here against others must in simple honesty return upon my own head. I too have been guilty. This is written with the hope that we all may turn unto the Lord our God and sin no more against Him. Let me state the cause of my bur­ den. It is this; Jesus Christ has today almost no authority at all among the groups that call tliemselves by His name. By these I mean not the Roman Catholics, nor the Liberals, nor the various quasiChristian cults I do mean Protestant churches generally, ..End I include those that protest the loudest that they are in spiritual descent from our Lord and His apostles, namely the evangelicals. It is a basic doctrine of the New Testament that after his resurrection the Man Jesus was declared by God to be both Lord and Christ, ar' that He was invested by the Father with absolute Lordship over the church which is His body. All authority is His in heaven and in earth. In his own

The Author: The late A.W. Tozer was a modern day prophet. His writings have the ring of authority and will no doubt continue to challenge to a more ded­ icated Christian walk for years to come. 2

proper time. He will exert it to the full but during this period in history He allows this authority to be challenged or ignored. And just now it is being challenged by the world and ignored by the church. The present position of Christ in the gospel churches may be likened to that of a king in a limited, constitu­ tional monarchy. The king (sometimes depersonalized by the term “the Crown”) is in such a country no more than a traditional rallying point, a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty much like a flag or a national anthem. He is lauded, feted and supported, but his real authority is small. Nominally he is head over all, but in every crisis someone else makes the decisions. On formal occasions he appears in his royal attire to deliver the tame, color­ less speech put into his mouth by the real rulers of the country. The whole thing may be no more than goodnatured make-believe, but it is rooted in antiquity, it is a lot of fun and no one wants to give it up. Among the gospel churches Christ is now in fact little more than a beloved symbol. “All Hail the Power

The Messenger Official organ. In the English language, of the EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CON­ FERENCE. Published bi-weekly under the auspices of the E.M.C. BOARD OF PUBLI­ CATION AND EDUCATION. Editor. David K. Schellenberg, Box 25, Station "F\ Winnipeg 5, Manitoba. All new subscriptions and change of address should be sent to Hr. Abe Kla­ ssen, Box 1447, Steinbach, Man. Subscription price to non-members $1.00 per year. All E.M.C. members pay through the church. Authorized as second class mail, Ppst Office Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage in cash.

The Messenger

In the oonduat of our public; worship where is the authority of Christ to be found? The truth is that today the Lord rarely controls a service, and the influence He exerts is very small, f/e sing of Him and preach about Him, but He must not interfere; We wor­ ship our way, and it must be right because we have always done it that way,as have the the other churches in our group. — A.W.Tozer of Jesus’ Name” is the church’s na­ tional anthem and the cross is her official flag, but in the week Iby-week day-by^fay conduct of her members someone else, not Christ, makes the decisions. Under proper circumstances Christ is allowed to say “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,” or “Let not your heart be troubled,” but when the speech is finished someone els© takes over. 'Those Those in actual authority decide the moral standards of the church, as well as all objectives and all methods employed to achieve them. Because of long and meticulous organization it is now possible for the youngest pastor just out of semin­ ary to have more actual authority in a church than Jesus Christ has. Net only does Christ have little or no authority. His influence also is becoming less and less. I would not say that He has none, only that it is small and diminishing, A fair parallel would be the infuence of Abraham Lincoln over the American people. Honest Abe is still the idol of the country. The likeness of his kind, rugged face, so homely that it is beautiful, appears everywhere. It is easy to grow misty-eyed over him. Children are brought up on stories of his love, his honesty and his humility. But after we have gotten control over our tender emotions what have we left? No more than good example which, as it recedes into the past, becomes more and more unreal and exercises less and less real influence Every scoundrel is ready to wrap Lincoln’s long black coat around him. In the cold light of political facts in the United States the constant appeal to Lincoln by the politicians is a cynical joke. The Lordship of Jesus is not quite forgotten among Christians, but it has been mostly relegated to the hymnal where all responsibility toward it may be comfortably discharged in a glow of pleasant religious emotion. Or if it is taught as a theory in the classrcom it is rarely applied to practical living. The idea that the Man Christ Jesus Jias absolue and final authority

March 4, 1966

over the whole church and over all of its members in every detail of their lives is simply not now accepted as true by the rank and file of evangelical Christians. What we do is this: We accept the Christianity of our group as being identical with that of Christ and His apostles. The beliefs, the practices, the ethics, the activities of our group are equated with the Christiantiy of the New Testament. Whatever the group thinks or says or does is scriptural, no questions asked. It is assumed that all our Lord expects of us is that we busy ourselves with the activities of the group. In so doing we are keeping the commandments of Christ. To avoid the hard necessity of either obeying or rejecting the plain in­ structions of our Lord in the New Testament we take refuge in a liberal interpretation of them. Casuistry is not the possession of Roman Catholic theologians alone. We evangelical® also know how to avoid the sharp point of obedience by means of fine and intricate explanations. These are tailor-made for the flesh. They excuse disobedience comfort carnality and make the words of Christ of none ef­ fect. And the essence of it all is that Christ simply could not have meant what He said. His teachings are ac­ cepted even theoretically only after they have been weakened by inter­ pretation. Yet Christ is consulted by increas­ ing numbers of persons with “prob­ lems” and sought after by those who Icng for peace of mind. He is wide­ ly recommended as a kind of spiritual psychiatrist with remarkable powers to straighten people out. He is able to deliver them from their guilt com­ plexes and to help them to avoid serious psychic traumas by making a smooth and easy adjustment to society and to their own ids. Of course this strange Christ has no relation what­ ever to the Christ of the New Testa­ ment. The true Christ is also Lord, but this accommodating Christ is little more than the servant of the people. But I suppose I should offer some^ concrete proof to support my charge

that Christ has little or no authorittoday among the churches. Well, let me put a few questions and let the answers be the evidence. What church board consults our Lord’s words to decide matters under discussion? Let anyone reading this who has had experience on a church board try to recall the times or time when any board member read from the Scriptures to make a point, or when any chairman suggested that the brethren see what instructions the Lord had for them on a particular question. Board meetings are habit­ ually opened with a formal prayer or “a season of prayer”; after that the Head of the church is respectfully silent while the real rulers of the church take over. Let anyone v/ho denies this bring forth evidence to refute it. I for one will be glad to hear it. Wnat Sunday school committee goes to the Word for directions? Do not the members invariably assume that they already know what they are supposed to do and that their only problem is to find effective means to get it done? Plans, rules, “operations” and new methodological techniques absorb all their time and attention. The prayer before the meeting is for d'vine help to carry out their plans. Apparently the idea that the Lord might have some insructions for them never so much as enters their heads. Who remembers when a conference chairman brought his Bible to the table with him for the purpose of using it? Minutes, regulations, rules of order, yes. The sacred command­ ments of the Lord, no. An absolute dichotomy exists between the devotion­ al period and the business session. The first has no relation to the second. What foreign mission board actual­ ly seeks to follow the guidance of the Lord as provided by His Word and His Spirit? They all think they do, but what they do in fact is to assume the scripturalness of their ends and then ask for help to find ways to achieve them. They may pray all night for God to give success to their enter-

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RETROSPECT AND

PROSPECT

Those who have been following the development of our Mission efforts in the Chaco, will be' interested in the new turn events have taken. When the Henry Toewses returned to Paraguay in the spring of 1959 with a burden for the souls of the Leliguas, he was appointed by the Menno Mission Committee to super­ vise Neuva Esperanza. This station had been started by his brother John about a year before. There were only makeishift grass huts on it at the time. The plan was to acquire land for farm operations, for two reasons: To provide work and a livelihood for the Indians who had been scattered and pushed off their hunting grounds by the Mennonite settlements; and seccnly, to congregate the Indians in one place to make mission work with them on a larger scale possible/. This proved to be a fruitful way of out­ reach. More and, more Indians came to the station. The farm provided the necessary work, and the food or all that came. A church building, doub­ ling as school, and a hospital, with the dwellings of the missionaries, plus bins for storage, and the increas-

Discussion, John Toews new Supervisor at La Esparanza on left.

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A delegation of Lengua Indian Leaders asking for acceptance on the La Esparanza Station. ing number of tetter houses for the Indians composed the station. What was accomplished in two years was hardly believable. The farm produced bountifully, and with a garden of about 80 acres, made living for the Indians a “paradise”, according to their estimates. And a thriving, lively con­ gregation of over three hundred was established, with over a hundred and twenty baptized believers. When the plans for individual farm settling of the Chaco Indians moved ahead, Neuva Esperanza became the experimental station of this new idea, since it was the only mission on Menno with enough farm land avail­ able. We did not think the plan would work, since the Indians had not had enough experience nor background for such a big step, but the Menno Missions Committee had their mind set on it. After a thorough discussion

Lengua Ladles Quartett.OpenAir Chapel in background.

around the conference table with the Menno Committee we agreed to sep­ arate our endeavours. They would continue with their plan, and we would open a new station of our own, off the Menno Colony, and proceed with our plan. This ended the first chapter in our Chaco Indian work.

New Start When a rich Uruguayan consented to seU us land that had so far not been sold in spite of superior quality, we were convinced that it was God’s finger on where we should establish our next station. This was now on our land, under our own supervision. We agreed to start only with the Sanapana Indians, of whom about a hundred had settled on Neuva Esper­ anza the previous two years. Although the Lengua Indians pled to come over to our station when we moved the Henry Toewses to La Esperanza (the new station), we felt it was better for cooperation sake, to permit only the Sanapana to come. So it was during the latter part of 1962 that a new beginning blossomed into another thriving fruitful cooperative farm mission. By the time of seeding in December of that year, and into Jan­ uary, the new compound had new huts for the Sanapana, living quarters lor Toewses, and a very promising crop of cotton in bloom, with ample garden acreage lor food to tide over till harvest of the crop of peanuts and cotton. The next two years were years of drought, change and problems. Henry Toews’s furlough, new personnel

THE MESSENGER

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without the language, changes in procedure, the difficulty of drought, problems among the Indians had their affect. Finally in June of 1965 the exodus of over six hundred Indians from Menno who came onto La Es­ peranza, with its resulting food and housing problem, resulted not only in problems with Menno, but were a severe financial strain. New Life, New Hope The last six months have seen new life, new hope and new efforts. With the' problems of the past year weathered and a definite plan to give work to all the Indians that come and want to work for their living, the station has become a beehive of activity. With over six hundred Indians on the station there is ample labour to keep the supervisor John Toews, the farm manager Herman Toews and their new help the Ernest Funks busy. A very promising crop of 200 acres of cotton is ready for picking. 80 acres of peanuts and 100 acres of cotton are in bloom and with favorable weather continuing could also yield a good crop. 50 acres of beans are coming along. New Plan The difficulties and financial strain of the past year have not helped in bringing everyone to one mind on how a mission should function. Some feel that our job is to preach the gospel and leavg the physcal needs, while others feel that it is also our responsibility to look after the phyrical; and aU the way in between. The Mission on the other hand has suffered through the slowness of re­ action finanacially to meet the heavy demands of the past year, since Mission funds were not channeled into the farm operation without being so stipulated. A new plan was agreed upon. This was to lease the farm to a mission minded group of Christians who would scg to it that the financial needs for operating the farm would be met, and at the same bme provide labour for the Indians for a livelihood, and opportunity for misison work with them. This plan received wholehearted support, and meetings were held with those who had shown their interest in this work by liberal donations for the farm. This resulted in be.ginning an organization of the Paraguay Mis­ sions Farm, which any interested mission minded Christian is invited to join. The third chapter in our Chaco Indian work has begun!

March 4, 1966 ,

THREE NEW MISSIONARIES

APPOINTED

TO LA ESPARANZA Sara Loeppky, who has seen one term of service in Par­ aguay already, has been re­ commissioned to serve at La Esparanza and will be leav­ ing in the near future.

Mr.and Mrs.Jacob Giesbrecht,former missionaries among the Lengua Ind­ ians on Menno Colony have been acc­ epted by EMC Board of Missions and appointed to serve at La Esparanza. f

NOTE: RE PARAGUAY MISSION FARM Any interested persons are warmly invited to take a part now i; this effort to help missions. A plan with conditions of membership has been agreed upon by the EMC Board of Missions and the preliminary committee of the Paraguay Missions Farm group. Shares of $600.00, which may be paid in three annual installments of $200.00: One share carries one vote. The shareholders elect a committee of five, preferably from different districts, who are responsible for the administration. For information application for membership or a meeting in your church write or call: A. F. Penner, Landmark, Man, Phone EL 5-4516 Dave P. Loewen, Giroux, Man,, phone DAvis 6-2723 B. D. Reimer, Box 789, Steinbach, Man, Phone DAvis 6-3542

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INEWS MORRIS CHAPEL We welcome the first news report from our newly organized EM con­ gregation in the town Morris. See Messenger Vol. 4, No. 1, ED. Purchase New Chapel Site After some extensive investigations, much deliberation and prayer, a unanimous decision was reached by our brotherhood to purchase a new church site just southwest over Highway 23 from the present Chapel. Sunday school facilities have been somewhat inadequate for a while and expansion has been under considera­ tion for quite some time. The newly acquired site consists of three large lots. Every third Sunday of the month is mislson night in the Morris E.M. Church. On February 20th We were privileged to have with us Mrs. P. D. Reimer of Steinbach to report on her trip to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The report was very challenging and interesting. The chapel was well filled. Bro. George Brown, mission­ ary at Woodlands, Manitoba, brought a stirring challenge to close the meet­ ing. Our first Communion Service in this church was celebrated on Febru­ ary Gth. We were richly blessed by the bread and cup, as also with the feetwashing ceremony. After the Com­ munion two brethren were elected to form a Church Board with the pastor. The brethren elected were Henry Rem pie and Alvin Brandt. Bro. Abe L. Friesen was elected as Conference Delgate.

PELLY We had the privilege of having Mr. Henry Klassen, a missionary teacher, home on furlough, from the British Honduras, in our area for three days, Feb. 8, 9, and 10. Thus allowing him to be at Arabella on the Sth for their regular Bible study evening, the 9th with the young people at Pelly and the 10th a service in Pelly. He showed many interesting pictures, giving the viewers an insight into the type of church they worship in down there

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and the very scenic Sunday school classrooms. Two girls from the Arabella area, Faye and Lillian Thiessen attended the youth conference at Steinbach. Pastor and Mrs. Giesbrecht motored down and took the girls. The Gies­ brecht children stayed with friends at Felly. Mr. John Koop from Kamsack served both Pelly and Arabella churches on Sunday. KOLA We have combined Teachers’ Train­ ing with our regular weekly Bible study for the winter months. We are studying Anabaptist History under the direction of Menno Kroeker. Rev. and Mrs. John Harms have gone to Winnipeg and Morris to seek medical help for Mr. Harms’s health.

STEINBACH Word came from Panama that a boy, Roger Keith, was bom to mis­ sionaries Cliff Reimers. For grand­ parents, the Ben L. Reimers and Mrs. Henry Toews the joyous news was worthy of a small celebration. A bit more overwhelmnig news came to the John H. W. Reimers in that they had become grandparents to twins on Jan. 7th, bora to the Art Janzes in Africa. The Janzes now have five children ages about 18, 14, 9 and now the twins Bruce Philip, weighing 6 lbs., 10 oz. at birth and Brenda Diane 5 lbs., 9 oz. Rev. P. D. Friesen passed away Jan. 16, 1966 alter a lengthy illness of seven years. For. Rev. Friesen it was hard to submit quietly to being served instead of serving as he re­ joiced in serving the Lord and our church here for many years as choir and song leader, minister and later pastor. The Pete Wiebes moved to Rosenort where Mr. Wiebe continues his work for the C. T. Loewen firm. Mr. Wiebe served the young people here with zeal and enthusiasm as their leader and will be much missed. Sister Sara Loeppky has been ac­ cepted for missionary service in Para­ guay. Miss Loeppky is a nurse in the local hospital here and has only re­ cently become a member of our church. Due to ill health the Henry Toewses came back from Paraguay on Jan. 28, where the heat had been 1(X) above and arrived here to our un-

usually cold winter of 43 below zero. Feb. 6th. Dr. and Mrs Lome Penner gave a report and showed slides of their work on Ethiopia. Mrs. Penner as a young nurse came over from England to work here. Soon she was privileged to come in contact with Christian nurses, felt the pull of God’s command, “Go ye” and in obedience attended the Briercrest Bible Institute where she met Dr. Penner. Since Dr. Penner had many years of study before him and she felt the can to Egypt as missionary she went there alone for a term or at least till all missionaries were sent out of that land. Now the Penners and their young family plan to go back to Ethiopia to the work they love, with renewed freshness to pro­ claim the living gospel of Christ.

ROSEISLE Fellowship Bible Study and Prayer T.feeting’s have again been started in the Carman area in preparation for a summer crusade with Myron Augsburger. One such meeting was held here on Feb. 15 with Rev. Hamilton of the Pentecostal Church of Carmen speaking. The theme of his message was “Let Christ Be Magnified.”

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE Mr. Henry Klassen, missionary from the British Honduras served us at the morning service Jan. 23 and in the evening showed slides of the work being done in the Honduras. New Members On January 30, 1966, we were happy to welcome into the fellowship of the Portage Church, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Neustaedter formerly of Steinbach. Rev. Schellenberg conducted the re­ ception and delivered the morning message. The Ladies Mission Group elections were held on January 31 with all offices being filled at this time. Mrs. Eva Friesen were elected president for a two year term with Mrs. Tina Sawatzky as vice president. Special Meetings Feb. 2 and 3 were days of special services with Rev. Don P. Shidler of the Gospel Missionary Union as guest speaker Mr. Shidler showed slides of the work being done in Ecuador and how the (people) Christians there have grown and as each group enlarges they have erected a church. The GMU has several churches in Guayaguil.

THE MESSENGER

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He also showed the bookstore where Mr. and Mrs.. A A Dyck are labouring; On Feb. 3 Mr. Shidler’s message was directed to the youth and young people of the Church. Elections February 7 saw the annual election for all offices of the church with all positions being filled except the church board, those being filled on Feb. 8 alcng with budget for the year. In the past six weeks we have had several guest speakers among them Rev. Henry Dyck, MacGregor; Mr. Ben Friesen, SBI; the Steinbach Young People with Mr. Harvey Plett sipeaker; the Winnipeg Young People with Mr. B. Klassen speaker. A group of young people attended the Youth Retreat at Steinbach and reported receiving many blessings

BURNS LAKE, B.C. It was a pleasant surprise to have the Jacob Friesens, Riverton, pay a visit to this area. They called in all the homes of the local congregation and learned to know the nature of the work here much better. Visits such as this also bring about closer rela­ tions between the conference as a whole and the church here. The Division of Vital Statistics, Department of Health and Welfare, have given the church cause for praising the Lord in that the local has been recognized as an organized religious body and have granted to Rev. Thiessen the certificate to per­ form marriage ceremonies, this is an item on which much work had been done and had been the cause of much prayer for the local group; now we praise God for provng Himself to be a prayer answering God. Groups who have not experienced this difficulty may not realize the hinderance that even a small item such as this may be in the general work of the Kingdom of Christ but here we have seen that in n any a home we were approached with this matter, so rejoice with us for .j.ie more hinderance having been removed.

VALLEY STREAM We thank the Lord for the enthu­ siasm that has been shown by our young people. They have organized a service committee which is now looking forward to presenting pro­ grams.

March 4, 1966

Our annual meeting was held on February 14, 1966. A new Christian Endeavour committee was elected, which new consists of Gordon Neu­ feld, Hugh Winters, and Diane Buhler. At this meeting, the church accepted the name Valley Stream Mission Church. Rev. Henry Dyck, pastor of the MacGregor Church is now having instruction classes every Saturday night. Tuesday night continues to be Family Night, where all members of the family are engaged in certain activities. Bible study for the adults is conduetd by Rev. H. P. Dyck and club work for the juniors is conducted by Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Neufeld. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.” (Psa. 68:19.)

RIDGEWOOD Jan. 19th we were privileged to have Mr. Henry Klassen give us a report of the mission work in British Honduras. He showed slides which also included pictures of the New Hope school, where Helen Kornelsen from Ridgewoed now is teaching. The report was apreciated much; it will help us to pray more intelligently for the work. Visit Mission Sta'tions Rev. Henry Kornelsen and Mr. Frank Thiessen left on Jan. 16th on a tour of the Northern Canadian Evangelical Mission stations. This in­ cluded a visit at God’s River where the Bill Penners and Gilbert Ungers are teaching, and to God’s Narrows where the Donald Thiessens are teaching at present. Doctor Addresses Young People Feb. 2nd was rather a special Young Peeples meeting when Dr. Lome Penner spoke on, “Christian Youth’s Problem as Seen by a Doctor.” May this talk help many a young person, in God’s strength, to solve his prob’°ms as they appear in life.

BIRTHS Kola To IMr. and Mrs. Ron Penner, a boy, Kevin Duane, born Feburary 14. To Mr. and Mrs. Jac Kliever, a girl, Sheryl Anne, born February 20. To Mr. and Mrs. Abe Neufeld of Arabella, a son, Larry John, on Feb. 16.

CHACO’S DATE PROCESSING INDUSTRY TO BE ENLARGED Akron, Pa. (MCC)—Present market trends point to the feasibility of enlarging the date processing industry in the Mennonite colonies in the Paraguayan Chaco. This possibili­ ty is being seriously considered in view of the large demand for dates in a number of South American countries. Dates are very expensive and scarce in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, and even in many parts of Paraguay (where one pound of processed dates sells for about $1.50). Recognizing this fact, exiperimental farm superintedent Robert Unruh introduced Californian palm trees into the Chaco in the early 195O’s. These trees are now producing an abundant of dates. The experimental farm’s personnel processing—which has to go through lour basic steps of artificial ripening, have recently discovered that the date drying, sterilizing and packaging— can be performed with the aid of hatching units at the farm. It has been estimated that by utilizing the six Incubator units at the experimental farm, 100,000 chicks can be hatched during the eight winter months and 10,000 pounds of dates can be processed throughout theremainder of the year. One major problem, however, has to be overcome before this venture can become a financial success. This is the problem of procuring a market for the commodity. After mis is achieved, plans be formulated to enlarge the palm orchards to corres­ pond with the demand for these fruits.

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SECOND ANNUAL MEETING DRAWS BIG CROWD

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olds Annual Meeting By Levi Dueak nonitg Disaster Service. Mr. John M. MCC (MANITOBA) AFTERNOON Wiens of Morden reported on a year SESSION After a brief opening devotional, of relatively little activity, since the the question of donating $50(X) to the were few disasters within easy reach Canadian Mennonite Assoc, which had of this organization. O n g MDSer come up in the morning session, was served in the far south rebuilding again briefly discussed and then negro churches, and 24 men volun­ voted on. A large majority of dele­ teered for the Minneapolis tornado gates voted to inform MCC (Canada) area. At 'present a move is underway oi their concern and disapproval of to start with training courses under their giving $5000 to THE CANADIAN thg governments Emergency Measures (formerly known as mennonite in recognition of pub­ Organization licity services rendered by that paper. Civil Defense) but with MDS super­ Menno Travel Service reported ' vision. The emphasis would bg on healthy overall growth, with total emergency feeding, housing, and sales of over two million dollars. The welfare. Plans for the Eden Mental Health Manitoba branch office is being re­ located to 377 Henderson Hwy. and Centre are rapidly progressing, ac­ it also has a new manager, Mr. H. cording to chairmfm J. R. Dyck. The Unger. The coming Mennonite World plans are for an active treatment Conference in Amsterdam in ’67 is the centre costing upwards of $450,000 subject of much travel planning al- (with provincial and federa aid.) The re'ady and MCC (Manitoba) stands board expects to call for building ready to offer assistance to anyone tenders within one month. We rejoice that the Icng-awaited hospital may wishing to travel under MTS. The chairman of Manitoba’s Men- soon become a reality.

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MCC (MANITOBA) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Left to right: Ted E. Friesen, Altona, secre­ tary; J. H. Unruh, Winnipeg, chairman; K. R. Barkman, Steinbach, vice-chairman; I. R. Dyck, Winkler, member of material aid committee; Frank J. Wiens, Kansas, guest speaker at Saturday’s meeting; and i. J. Wall, Winnipeg, treasurer. Missing from picture are G. S. Fast, Kleefeld and G. G. H. Ens, Reinland, members. (Canadian Mennonlte)

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Women’s meeting at MCC Annual Meeting.

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Walter KroeJter of CFAM radio station, Altona reported on their joint drivg (with MCC) for funds to buy 70 carloads of food and $14000 worth of drugs for Viet Nam. He was grateful for the tremendous response to their appeal, and MCC (Manitoba) is indeed grateful to CFAM for this splendid effort to help the needy. A look at the 1965 buUget of MCC Manitoba revealed that we had not reached our goal of $101,850. For this reason, a slight reduction was pro­ posed and accepted for the 1966 budget. Finally, we werg privieged to hear Mr. F. J. Wiens of Tabor College, formerly MCC director in South America. Hg spoke on the Indian Resettlement Program in the Para­ guayan Chaco, wherg he had served for many years. There are some 7000 “civilized” Indians in this area, and about 25''i of these are Chritsians, tlianks to the different Mennonite missions and other friendly contacts. Tberg are ten medical clinics and the the nurses have a tremendous task, not only in ministering to the sick, but also in teaching “home econo­ mics” where cleanliness is almost un­ known. Many villages have their own tribal school tachers who have had at least four years of Spanish school themselves. When a native receives his little plot of land, he gets a new lease on life, for then hg feels he “has arrived". The MCC clothing bundles and onehorse cultivators have also been a tremendous help to thesg pople. “Whatsoever ye have done unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me.”

THE MESSENGER

OVEBWHEOUNG response to third annual youth conference

S3I •J yOUTH CONfEKENCE t

An influx of young peoiple more than doubled the campus population at the Steinbach Bible Institute the weekend of Feb. 11-13 when some 261 youthful visitors converged on the, school. They had come for the third annual Youth Conference of the SBI. Dorm­ itory rooms normally having four occupants had tc make room for nine! Some applicants and latecomers had to be turned away for lack of space. Main speaker with challenging messages geared for these times, was Rev. Ed. Stoesz a Saskatoon pastor. The message's dealt with victorious Christian living. “There are many areas in which conquest may come” sf id Mr. Stoesz quoting from Romans 8:37. Christ is the power in living the overcoming life,” he commented. Other items on the program con-

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sisted of films and special singing. Two films were shown, CITY OF BEES and TEENAGE LOYALTY. The SBI Choral was also in attendance. Some of the places visitors came from were: MacGregor, Austin, Glad­ stone, Swift Current, Gouldtown, Wymark, Portage 'a Praire, Pelly, Giroux, Winnipeg! Roseisle, and Low“ Farm. The conference came to a close on Sunday afternoon. On Sunday fore­ noon the guests attended the morning worship service at the local EMB Church. Purpose for the conference is to bring young people to the Bible In­ stitute campus in order to interest them in th? type of training that is offered there. For next year the minimum age has been raised to fifteen.

MISSIONARY RELOCATES TO STUTTGART Found Only Blue Sky and Two Black Balls I came to. Stuttgart on Nov. 16 with some "Schwierigkeiten” (trouble). Trains in Germany have the habit of switching cars from one loco­ motive to another going in another direction. My car was “abgehaengt” (disconnected) that way while I was leisurly sipping tea and drinking in the scenery from the dining car window. I came back to where my car was supposed to be and found instead thg blue sky and two black rails. So my “Gepaek” (baggage) was on its way to Stuttgart and I was on my way to Bergdesgarden. But it all came out right in the end. Arrived in Stuttgart three hours late. I have come to Stuttgart to study in the University night school. But the semester starts the beginning of February so I have only one subject at • present. Will start in earnest in February. But I will be studying not only for the language sake but to wor.i 'Wth the students. Right after Christmas is “Winter Freizeit” (Retreat). And I will be busy, very busy there. I am really looking forward to counselling our ■ young people who need much help regarding spiritual growth and ma­ turity. Agatha Fast

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Part of the gathering of hundreds of young people at the recent SBI Youth Conference

March 4, 1966 .

Food for the body

CHILDREN'STORY

Company

Manners

I knew something was wrong the minute 1 steppea into tne kitchen, and leaned up against the closed door, blinking at her. Wowl That dress Mom was fitting on her! It was really something. Pret­ ty, dark blue stuff, sort of like her eyes. I reached to the table for a warm oatmeal cookie — the lumpy kind with dates inside — and munched it, and blinked at Sis some more. She stared at me, puzzled, “Is — something — wrong?” She might as well know it now. I told about the jam I’d got her into. “Oh, Petie!’’ she wailed. “Now, you don’t need to Oh, Petie me,” I said, and reached for another cookie. “I didn’t mean to do it, and—” “I don’t see,” said Mom smoothly, “—Peter, just two cookies. You’ll spoil your supper — I don’t see, Lucille, that you have much of a problem. After all, these Crees are staying. Tell them it isn’t suitable to have them now. You can ask them over another time. But Mona Steinson—” And Mom did something to Lucille’s skirt­ hem. But Lucille looked at me unhap­ pily, and bit her lip. This was some­ thing Mom wouldn’t understand, not being a Christian.

By Margaret Epp Seeond Part of a Four Part Serial. 10

We knew an Indian wouldn’t dream of turning people away from a party. Why, if I’d tell Johnnie and Annie not to come. I’d be insulting every Indian for miles around. Then what would happen to our Sunday school? And what would happen to those kids, who, maybe, were just about ready to be saved? “Maybe you could have a picnic tramp instead of that tea-party thing,” I suggested, absent-mindedly taking another cookie. When I noticed, I couldn’t put it back on account of the half-moon missing. Mom never noticed. “After all the work I’ve done preparing—” she said in her firm tone. And Lucille didn’t say a word. So I wasn’t too happy next day when I set out in the company jeep for the landing strip on Parsons Lake. We’d just heard the forestry plane coming in, and I was elected to meet the city beauty. The jeep driver needed a boy in case he got stuck or something in that rotten snow-trail. You know what it’s like when snow has been packed down and packed down all winter, and the trail gets higher and higher. And spring comes, and there’s water underneath — man, that jeep wallowed along. I hung on, and my thoughts wallowed, too. Dr. Steinson — he’d be in the woods all day, studying how to save our spruce woods from further budworm infestation. Thousands of trees are dying from it every year. We’d be ex­ pected to entertain that citified daughter of his. Well, we ambled onto the shore just as the plane came skidding along, its skis throwing rainbows of spray. Water on the lake-ice. That meant this would be the last ski-trip, likely, for the plane this spring. Maybe in May or June pontoon planes could start coming in. Wow! What if the spring break-up came now? What if the ski-plane was stranded and Mona Steinson was stranded too? Fancy dress-up tea-parties every day. How long could a fellow stand that? The first man out of the plane was Dr. Steinson. He waved a friendly hand, and turned to help someone out. Did I get the shock of my life. All the way back to the house I clung

to the jeep and chuckled helplessly, when I thought nobody was noticing. Mona Steinson — the city girl — Mona in lumberjack plaids! And at hom6 Sis was waiting, dressed in swishy silks — or something. Wouldn’t I ust like to see Mom’s face, and Lucil e’s. Know what? They took it as a joke too. And Mom didn’t look disap­ pointed in the least when Mona sug­ gested she’d sort of like to take a hike. She helped the girls pack fancy cup­ cakes and things. Sis got into more comfortable clothes, and we set out, going by way of the sawmill. I guessed Lucille was figuring on pick­ ing up Johnnie and Annie Crowfoot on the way. “We’re hoping they’ll be saved soon,” she explained to Mona, when the Indian kids came whooping along the path toward us. “Saved?” That was a queer look Mona threw Lucille. Then she sort of shrugged a shoulder, and laughed, sounding embarrassed. “You keep the kids sticking to you,” Lucille whispered, nudging me. She said afterwards that I promised. But I don’t know. Man, how that question bothered me afterwards. Did

MENNONITE WRITER HAS MANY READERS

Margavet A. Epp,the writer of Company Manners lives in Saskatoon. THE MESSENGER

OVER LAND AND SEA

/-fjy j2. by Mrs. P. D. Reimer

Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx—Cairo, Egypt

In hen travels Mrs. Reimer has arrived in the Holy Land. She relates of her experiences in this and the next installment.

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Shortly after I arrived in Cairo I became aware that my purse with all its contents was missing. Here I am stranded in a strange country. What am I to do now? I lift up my heart in prayer to my heavenly Father who is fully aware of all our needs, and who is concerned about our weU being. Oh, why must I fall into this predicament? Had I not met God in the morning and committed all my ways to Him anew? Somewhat frantically, but prayer­ fully, I hurried back, feeling tense as to the outcome of this dilemma. My eyes were fastened on the mailing box (Schalter). If only the mass of people would part at this point. Like a miracle, I found my purse lying exactly where I had left it. For me the verse is applicable as found in Psalm 50:15: CaU upon me in the day of trouble . . . and thou Shalt praise me. How I did praise my Lord for guiding me in such a won­ derful way. On that day I experienced anew how completely dependent we are upon our heavenly Father. Jerusalem It is Sunday, May 2 and from Cairo we are heading for Jerusalem. How my heart was stirred when “Jer­ usalem” was called out. However, how much more our hearts wiU re­ joice when the call for that heavenly Jerusalem will be sounding forth. My thoughts are again following the I.sraelites of the Old Testament in their wilderness wanderings, as well as some of their other experiences. Margaret Friesen, who attended

March 4, 1966

school in Steinbach is now serving in a Sanitarium near BeLhlehem, whch was erected by Thomas Sambie in Lobetai (2 Chronicles 20:26). Margaret had taken four days off from work to spend the time with me which I highly appreciated. My daugh­ ter Helen from Congo had notified her of my coming. The weather was perfect. And everybody was telling me that this was the best time of the year. The roses, fruit trees and vine-, yards were displaying all their glory. Margaret had ordered a taxi for Monday, May 3 and had also prepared a lunch. We now started out into the beyond where the historical facts of the Bible as well as the life of the Lord Jesus had its origin. In order to get a better picture of it, I had carefully read through the first part of the N.T. Yes, here it was where Christ was born, had lived, and died. Historic Places This journey took us to Jericho, the Dead Sea, Jordan and up to Samaria. The old Jericho is being dug out. At many of these 'places you have to pay in order to get a closer view. In the vicinity of the present Jericho is a fugitive camp, lodging fifty thousand people since 1948. All these get their water supply from the brook named Krith, where Elija was sent during the famine. We waded bare­ foot in the Dead Sea and noticed how the salt water clung to our feet. In the distance we saw the land of the Moabites and the hill of Gilead. I will merely mention some of the other noteworthy biblical places: the

road Joseph took to Egypt and prob­ ably where Josetph and Mary fled with 'Baby Jesus; boundaries built of stone as inheritage with the father’s name engraved in it; many sheep; called by their name; vineyards and tomato fields. The only rain they get is in spring, throughout the whole summer the fields are irrigated with heavy dew. The gardens and fields are all terraced. We saw Tekoa, where the prophet Amos was born. Plowing is done with wooden plows. There were three ponds according to King Solomon’s time Eccl. 2:6. At present Bethlehem gets its water supply from these ponds During Solomon’s time, also Jerusalem received water from here. It is rain water. Many brown Syrian milch cows. As we travel through the Hills of Judea, we see numerous olive trees which never die but remain green continuously. Frequently you ^an see holes or caves at the sides of these hills, in which people or sheep have their lodging and sometimes both at the same time. You can also see numerous donkeys, heavily loaded. These are called “Holy Land Jeep, 4 wheel drive.”

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Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock

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prises, but Christ is desired as their helper, riot as their Lord. Human means are devised to achieve ends assumed to be divine. These harden into policy, and thereafter the Lord doesn’t even have a vote. In the conduct of our pubilc worship where is the authority of Christ to be found? The truth is that today the Lord rarely controls a service, and the influence He exerts is very smaU. We sing of Him and preach about Him, but He must not interfere; we worship our way, and it must be right because wf. have always done it that way, as have the other churches in our group. What Christian when faced with a moral problem goes straight to the Sermon on the Mount or other New Testament Scripture for the authori­ tative answer? Who lets the words of Christ be final on giving, birth control, the bringing up of a family, personal habits, tithing, entertainment, buying, selling and other such important mat­ ters? What theological school, from the lowly Bible institute up, could con­ tinue to operate if it were to make Christ Lord of its every policy? There may be some, and I hoipe there are, but I believe I am right when I say that most such schools to stay in business are forced to adopt proce­ dures which find no justification in the Bible they profess to teach. So we have this strange anomaly: the au­ thority of Christ is ignored in order to maintain a school to teach among other things the authority of Christ. The causes back of the decline in our Lord’s authority are many. I name only two. One is the power of custom, prece­ dent and tradition within the older re­ ligious groups. These likg gravitation affect every particle of religious prac­ tice within the group, exerting a steady and constant pressure in one direction. Of course that direction is toward conformity to the status quo. Not Christ but custom is lord in this

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situation. And the same thing has passed over (possibly to a slightly lesser degree) into the other groups such as the full gospel tabernacles, the holiness churches, the Pentecostal and fundamental churches and the many independent and undenomina­ tional churches found everywhere throughout the North American con­ tinent. The second cause is the revival of intellectualism among the evangelicals. This, If I sense the situation correctly, is not so much a thirst for learning as a desire for a reputation of being learned. Because of it good men who ought to know better are being put in the position of collaborating with the enemy. I’ll explain. Our evangelical faith (which I be­ lieve to be the true faith of Christ and His apostles) is being attacked these days from many different directions. In the Western world the enemy has forsworn violence. He comes against us no more with sword and fagot; he now comes smiling, bearing gifts. He raises his eyes to heaven and swears that he too be­ lieves in the faith of our fathers, but his real purpose is to destroy that faith, or at least to modify it to such an extent that it is no longer the superantural thing it once was. He comes in the name of philosophy or psychology or anthropology, and with sweet reasonableness urges us to rethink our historic position, to be less rigid, more tolerant, more broadly understanding. He speaks in the sacred jargon of the schools, and many of our half­ educated evangelicals run to fawn on him. He tosses academic degrees to the scrambling sons of the prophets as Rockefeller used to toss dimes to the children of the peasants. The evangel­ icals who, with some justification, have been accused of lacking true scholarship now grab for these status symbols with shining eyes, and when they get them they are scarcely able to believe their eyes. They walk about

in a kind of ecstatic unbelief, much as the soloist of the neighborhood church choir might were she to be invited to sing at La Scala. For the true Christian the one supreme test for the present sound­ ness and ultimate worth of everything religious must be the place our Lord occupies in it. Is He Lord or symbol? Is He in charge of the project or merely one of the crew? Does He decide things or only help to carry out the plans of others? All religious activities from the simplest act of an Individual Christian to the ponderous and expensive operations of a whole denomination may be proved by the answer to the question. Is Jesus Christ Lord in this act? Whether our works prove to be wood, hay and stubble or gold and silver and precious stones in that great day will depend u-pon the right answer to that question. What then are we to do? Each one of us must decide, and there are at least three possible choices. One is to rise up in shocked indignation and accuse me of irresponsible reporting. Another is to nod general agreement with what is written here but take comfort in the fact that there are exceptions and we are among the exceptions. The other is to go down in meek humility and confess that we have grieved the Spirit and dis­ honored our Lord in failing to give Him the place His Father has given Him as Head and Lord of the church. Either the first or the second will but confirm the wrong. ’The third if carried cut to its conclusion can re­ move the curse. The decision lies with us.

NEEDED URGENTLY The Extension Committee is making an urgent re­ quest for teachers in­ terested in teaching in one of our extension areas. If you qualify please apply to:

EMC EXTENSION BOX 789 STEINBACH,MAN. THE MESSENGER