Saturday, January 26
Closing Presentations
Views from the world: MCC, the Mennonite World Conference, ICOMB and MB Mission. The church around the world frequently suffers for the faith or is impoverished, whether financial or other resources. It was inspiring to hear stories from various perspectives.
Views from Board of Faith and Life: there’s an appetite for discussion like this. People are engaging each other and the issue from their positions on the spectrum. It’s a robust environment and many noted that the discussion was characterized by candor and respect.
What if 25 years from now, when people hear the words “Mennonite Brethren”, people say, “We know them: they love Jesus, do his work, and strive for peace and justice all over the world.”
What will it take to achieve that? Where are the pitfalls?
As I shared about the challenges faced in our international community, it struck me that we are in a spiritual struggle throughout the world. How vigilant we must be! Prayerful. Submitted to the Holy Spirit. Deepening our love and unity. Students of the Word. Resistant to the powers.
To me these are core activities. It’s not just about finding truth, but doing it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the bonds of love. How we find truth and commit to it builds the body and its witness.
These processes also leave some of the results unpredictable. But this has been the way of the Kingdom. Jesus didn’t download all the answers to his disciples. They were still uncertain when they saw him disappear into heaven. Even after the Holy Spirit descended upon the church, they needed to work out the consequences of growth (Acts 6) and conflict (Acts 15). No downloads…
But lots of love, prayer, submission, and resistance.
May God help us on this journey – in the USA, and around the world in our global faith family.
