Calvinist or Anabaptist? - does it matter?

Terry Hiebert, at Revive! EMMC Leadership Retreat, noted that within the EMMC there are both Calvinists and Anabaptists. He titled a presentation he lead "why can't we get along?"
(Working definitions of Calvinists and Anabaptists)

Does it matter if we are Calvinists or Anabaptists?

Yes.
Our theology shapes how we live, how we do ministry (run church).
Everyone has a working theology. You might not be able to explain it, but it does exist and shape you.

Example:
The Gospel Coalition (Calvinists) states "The Bible is without error, but also that its inerrant content must be properly interpreted."
Historically this means that "proper interpretation" rests with "properly" trained scholars. People come to listen to trained scholars explain what the bible means. Preaching is very important within this tradition. Training of scholars is also important.
Strengths: The bible is treated with great respect. It is also acknowledged that it can be a difficult book to understand. It is really old and was written in Greek and Hebrew. Education and scholars have an important role within the church. The bible is does not mean whatever you feel like you want it to mean.
Weaknesses: Can create a priestly system. For the average person to approach the scriptures (and by implication God) they need to have a scholar (priest) assist them. Another weakness is that a human's interpretation can get tied so closely to scripture that to challenge the interpretation is seen as a challenge to scripture itself. This results in toe the party line or be accused of heresy. 

Anabaptists on the other hand lean toward a communal discernment of scripture. People should read the scriptures together and wrestle with what it means and how applies to their lives within community.
Strengths: People are encouraged take ownership of reading and understanding scripture. This is not for the elite but for all followers of Jesus. Scripture reading is not simply about right interpretation but also about application to life. 
Weaknesses: The hard work of understanding scripture within its original context can be down played. Studying the bible can simply become a sharing of what we feel scripture says instead of diligent study.

Calvinist or Anabaptist? - A place to start

Terry Hiebert, at Revive! EMMC Leadership Retreat, noted that within the EMMC there are both Calvinists and Anabaptists. He titled a presentation he lead "why can't we get along?"

(For working definitions of Calvinism and Anabaptism)

A place to start:

Humility
Admission that we do not know everything. There are still things to learn.
We learn from those who disagree with us.
If someone agrees with me completely I have not learned anything. There is no place for growth or deeper understanding.

Respect
This is not a winner takes all competition. The goal is not to defeat your enemies at all costs.
There are no enemies.
We are brothers and sisters.

Calvinist or Anabaptist? - Definitions

Terry Hiebert presented at Revive! EMMC Leadership retreat. Terry showed that in the EMMC there are Calvinists and Anabaptists. The title of his presentation was "why can't we get along?"

Working Definitions:

New Calvinist - The Gospel Coalition's "Foundation Documents" summarized:

1. The Bible is without error, but also that its inerrant content must be properly interpreted.
2. The absolute sovereignty of the triune, creator God has exhaustive foreknowledge, determines the smallest details of the universe, and saves his elect monergistically [monergistically means that God saves without any cooperation from the individual].
3. In marriage and in the church, God has ordained that men and women play complementary (not equal) roles.
4. The strong sense of mission comes out of a rich theology of God's kingdom as the exercise of God's sovereignty in the world for the eventual redemption of all creation.
5. A well-developed ecclesiology commits New Calvinists to the renewal of faith in the gospel of Christ, reforming ministry practices to conform fully to the Scriptures, and proclaiming a gospel that "seeks the lordship of Christ over the whole of life."
6. The "gospel-centered" faith is rich in piety holding up Christ as the one to whom we are united by faith and through whom we receive our justification and sanctification - he is not merely a moral example.

The Neo-Anabaptist - The Anabaptist Network

1. Jesus is our example, teacher, friend, redeemer, and lord.
2. Jesus is the focal point of God's revelation.
3. Western culture is slowly emerging from the Christendom era when church and state jointly presided over a society...seriously distorted the gospel, marginalised Jesus, and has left the churches ill-equipped for mission in a post-Christendom culture.
4. The frequent association of the church with status, wealth and force is inappropriate for followers of Jesus and damages our witness.
5. Churches are called to be committed communities of discipleship and mission, places of friendship, mutual accountability and multi-voiced worship.
6. Spirituality and economics are inter-connected.
7. Peace is at the heart of the gospel.

At the end of the presentation Terry asked two questions:

1. Does this matter?
2. Are you more Calvinist or Anabaptist?

Grief or Grace?

Justin Bradbury - presented at Revive! EMMC Leadership retreat. These ideas adapted from James Lawrence.

Two ways to do ministry:

First/Then

Terry Hiebert - presented at Revive! EMMC Leadership retreat. He reference David Fitch as the source for this idea.

Both/and instead of choosing either/or.
Jesus commands us to love God and to love others.
This is not an either/or choice.
We are to do both/and.
Or
We respond first/then.

First one thing and then the other.
This response is based on the situation.
So in Luke 10 -
The Good Samaritan - first love your neighbour (take care of the wounded man) and then love God (worship at the temple).
Mary and Martha - first love God (sit at Jesus' feet) and then love your neighbour (make supper).

EMMC – Evangelical

Evangelical Mennonite Mission Church.  Who are we?  Evangelical

There is a lot of debate or confusion about what “evangelical” means.

Tony Campolo states “there is little argument that the word evangelical conjures up an image of Christians who are anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-environmentalist, pro-war, pro-capital punishment, and conservative Republican.”  (page XI, Red Letter revolution, Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo)

This seems a bit harsh, unfair and not a very good picture of evangelical.  This is not what we mean when we define ourselves as evangelical.

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism) defines evangelical by four convictions which I think are helpful and good.

1. Conversion.  There is a call for people to be “born again” (this comes out John 3).  A decision needs to be made.  A decision that is to bring a radical change into a person’s life
2. Authority of the Bible.  The Bible is viewed as the authority for life and faith.  
3. Jesus.  The birth, life, death and resurrection are central.  
4. Makes a difference in life.  These are not simply beliefs that we are to hold in our heads rather they are supposed to deeply influence every part of our life (including politics)

Now linking ourselves to evangelical is interesting.  As Mennonites we would hold to the authority of the Bible, Jesus and discipleship very strongly.  In fact in some circles it is argued that as Mennonites we hold to these things more strongly than the average evangelical.

So I believe that when we said we are Evangelical this refers to the personal decision to follow Jesus.  A person is not a Christian because they were born into a Christian home or in a Christian nation or because they did so many good things.  To be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus.  To follow Jesus means we had to make a decision to follow him.

Jim Cantelon - missional church

Here are some more thoughts on what Jim Cantelon shared at the pastor's retreat that I attended last week.

In one of Jim's sessions he talked about being a missional church. He used Acts 2 - the story of the early church - to give us a frame for what missional church should look like. Two things stood out to me.

First, is that we need to be open to the supernatural, the transcendent. The church is not simply a country club that does some nice service things. We are the people of the living God, who have been filled with the Spirit of God. In the early church this lead to people speaking in languages they did not know (the gift of tongues).

Second, the church needs to be rooted in the bible and proclaiming the truth of the bible. We are not simply to be a group that engages in experiences. We are the people of the God of truth and he has spoken to us. And we are called to be his ambassadors to the whole world preaching truth.

These two things, the supernatural and the preaching of the word, need to be held together if we are going to be a missional church.

Jim Cantelon - how things have changed

Last night when Jim Cantelon spoke he began off by talking about how the world has changed. He argued that everything has changed. He states that people are now more:

1. Relationally loyal than denominationally loyal. We are committed to things because of the relationships that we develop not because of of the denomination.
2. Humble than we are proud. Jim said in the past there was a great pride in many ministries but that is becoming less.
3. Action orientated. People no longer just want to sit and absorb they want to engage.
4. Focused on authenticity instead of simply productivity.
5. Focused on having fun not just doing things.
6. Committed to a sustainable spirituality. Jim mentioned that in the past people's spiritual life was a roller coaster - need to get converted every other week.

Jim Cantelon - Here am I send me

Last night Jim Cantelon spoke on Isaiah 6. Jim told us that in order to lead a missional church we have to be on a mission ourselves. Actually he stated that we have to be on the mission that God has called us to. And this mission is not to hundreds and thousands (at least not at first) but to one.
This made me think that possibly instead of asking what God is calling us to do? We should prehaps ask who God is calling us to?

Pastor Retreat #1

I am at a retreat for all the pastors and leaders in my conference. Cindy and I have been part of the planning team (which has been really cool). We have gotten to work with some really awesome people.
I am excited to see what God has in store for us as this retreat happens. Jim Cantelon, author of When God Stood Up, is with us to share.
I should also confess that I am a little nervous. I am in charge of a few things and I really hope they work out. People have given up money and time to be here, I am really pray that they do not feel that it is a waste of time.

Rethink your conference

The conference I am part of, Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference (EMMC), is in the process of discussing our core values. If you are part of the conference I invite you to jump over to rethink your conference and join the conversation. But I would love to hear what any of you think - so feel free to post your thoughts here.
There are three core values purposed:

Radical Discipleship - Jesus Christ is the center of our faith

1. We accept Jesus as both Savior and Lord and live in relationship with him
2. Accepting Jesus as Savior means we trust him for forgiveness and eternal life
3. Accepting Jesus as Lord means following him in daily life
4. We interpret the Bible from a Christ-centered point of view

Authentic Community - Christ-centered Community is the center of our life.

1. We move beyond individualism to enter the fellowship of Christ’s church.
2. The experience and practice of forgiveness is the means toward community.
3. We structure our churches to facilitate community.
4. We read and interpret Scriptures in the context of community.
5. Christian community models hope for the world.

Active Reconciliation - Reconciliation is the center of our work and witness.

1. We call all persons everywhere to be reconciled to God.
2. We invite all persons to experience the reconciliation of personal healing.
3. We encourage all people to seek reconciliation in personal relationships.
4. We work and pray for peace in all areas of conflict and injustice in the world.
5. We commit ourselves to live in harmony with God’s creation.

Are these good core values? Should we drop some of them? Are we missing something?