Mennonite Church U.S.A. Members Turning Away from Historic Beliefs

Think Core Mennonite Values Barriers to Unchurched, Historian Says at CMU Lecture Series

By Conrad Stoesz and Ken Reddig

WINNIPEG, Man. — For John Roth, Mennonite Church members in the U.S. are in a paradoxical moment in time.

John Roth

Never before, he said, have Mennonites enjoyed such credibility and support from other denominations—in ecumenical circles, Anabaptism is seen as the “darling child,” with interest, support and acceptance of traditional Mennonite distinctives such as peace and service. Even the emergent church movement, he predicts, will one day start looking to Mennonites for authenticity and grounding.

But it’s a different story within many churches in Mennonite Church U.S.A., said Roth, this year’s speaker at the November 6-7 Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) John and Margaret Friesen Lectures. While other Christians are embracing core Mennonite theology, Mennonite Church members in that country are turning away from their historical beliefs, he stated.

Basing his observations on visits to about 150 Mennonite Church U.S.A. congregations over the past eight years, Roth, Director of the Mennonite Historical Library and professor of history at Goshen College in Indiana, said he was encouraged to see congregations embracing the missional church concept—reaching out to friends and neighbours. But, he said, many people seem to think that Mennonite church beliefs and traditions are barriers to the unchurched, with the result that some downplay Mennonite beliefs and identity to become more generically Christian.

Referring to the 2006 Mennonite Church U.S.A. membership profile, Roth noted that fewer than a third of members had strong denominational loyalty. This concerns him; Mennonites, he said, have been given a gift and are stewards of a distinctive theology and practice that other denominations now appreciate.

Roth went on to note the number of pressures impacting Mennonites today—things like mass media, individualism and freedom of choice. The church, he said, is becoming fragmented and members are becoming consumers of faith; many people today, he observed, go church shopping to find a church that meets their needs when, where and the way they want it.

This omnipresent market mentality has become idolatrous within society, and in the church, he stated, with even people of faith buying into the logic of production and consumption when it comes to choosing a church. Without a clear theological centre other than self-interest, he suggested, the church will continue to be haunted by fragmentation.

Roth concluded by stating that there is a need for clarity of Mennonite identity in the future, and a renewed commitment to the body of Christ. He pushed hard the idea that the future identity of the Mennonite Church needs to be grounded in a renewed faith, rooted in a renewed commitment to local congregations—places where relationships are nurtured and which are rooted in a love for the world.

Roth concluded his series with a rather surprising appeal for a recovery of worship. He lamented that worship has often been pragmatic and consumer oriented, rather than the kind of worship that transforms people, and added that it might also be appropriate to understand baptism and the Lord’s Supper in more sacramental terms.

Arguing that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not just symbols, Roth suggested that they should be seen as acts of remembering and re-membering—that is, acts of beauty and holiness that not only bring together the shards and splinters of the broken soul, but also a public activity that gathers Christians together to restore what has been divided, separated and torn asunder in the world.

For those who heard him, Roth’s words were challenging, stimulating and worshipful—which is not usually the way people might describe an historical lectureship series.

Conrad Stoesz is an archivist at the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies and the Mennonite Heritage Centre; Ken Reddig is Director of the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Canada.

Posted November 17, 2007