Evangelism and Peace Witness?
by Merle Good
Ten years had passed since the Baptists and the Mennonites sat down together for bilateral discussions. What, if anything, might they learn from each other? In what areas might they encourage each other?
A Conference on "Evangelism and the Peace Witness of the Church" took place at Eastern College in Philadelphia, PA, on January 10-12, 2002. Attended by about 85 persons, the academic conference was co-sponsored by Mennonite World Conference and Baptist World Alliance. About two-thirds of the attendees were Mennonite; only three or four of the whole group came from outside North America.
Amid the pulse-taking, several mutually held convictions emerged: 1) strong support for the "Believers Church" motif; 2) the need for a high Christology; and 3) a sense that the common threads related to the beginnings of these two groups should be explored more.
But the contrasts were more pronounced. Size was one — though the Baptists are a more recent confession, there are about 50 times more of them than Mennonites. Some attendees asked why this was, and whether this was in fact directly related to the theme of the conference. Were the Mennonites less effective in winning persons to their churches through the years? Or were the Mennonite ideals of discipleship and peacemaking too intimidating for most seekers?
"Personal conversion" and "baptism" were two themes which emerged repeatedly from the presentations of Baptist speakers. "Peace" and "reconciliation" were the two most common themes from Mennonite presenters.
Several of the Baptist speakers included rather dramatic stories of their own personal conversions to faith in Jesus Christ; none of the Mennonites did. Several of the Mennonite presenters included stories of their involvement (sometimes dramatic) in missions of peace, reconciliation and justice; only one or two Baptist speakers did so. "The Baptists have taken the commission to evangelize as primary," noted one Baptist, quoting a Mennonite, "and the Mennonites have taken the second commandment of loving the neighbor as more primary in their life."
"Baptists have been good obstetricians but bad pediatricians," observed Denton Lotz, General Secretary of Baptist World Alliance. Larry Miller, Executive Secretary of Mennonite World Conference, responded, suggesting that the Mennonites need to learn more from the Baptists about missions and evangelism. "Many Mennonites are missionaryminded. So what's the difference between us?" he asked.
Numerous suggestions were made throughout the conference on ways the two groups might encourage each other. It was noted several times that the Baptists and the Mennonites in the Soviet Union had worked closely together and, having migrated to Germany in recent years, often continue to do so today. Also, in countries around the world where Christians are in the minority, Baptists and Mennonites often have a closer relationship.
No formal structures are being proposed by either side, simply an occasional bilateral discussion which brings greater understanding. "We don't seek to convert each other in these bilateral discussions," Larry Miller observed, "but we learn to know each other better."
Two poignant moments occurred near the end of the conference. One Baptist leader cautioned Mennonites on letting their peace witness become too one-sided. "Our people in the Soviet Union suffered a great deal for many years under the repression of that government," he said, "and the Mennonites expressed very little witness against the horrors of the gulag. You should have."
Later a Mennonite leader stood and with considerable emotion confessed, "I have been touched by your personal conversion stories. I wish I had that sense of conversion and assurance of salvation." Then he added wistfully, "What confuses me is that so often the persons and groups who profess such a conversion turn out to be the most hostile as Christians to our concerns for peace and justice. Why is that?"
Both moments suggested the need for more conversations between these two groups.
Merle Good, Lancaster, PA, serves as a Communication Consultant/Writer for Mennonite World Conference.
