That Awesome Sermon From ACA

Shannon MartinLeave a comment

You may recall that in my last post, Finding The Gate, I told you about a beyond fantastic and spirit filled message given by Jessica Schrock Ringenberg.  Imagine my delight today when I ran across a link that went to her blog on The Mennonite’s webpage and it had a copy of the actual sermon itself!!

And then the despair as I read through it to experience it again, and realized that my paraphrasing of the sermon didn’t do justice to how incredibly thought-provoking Jessica’s words were.

LGBTQ: The middle’s turn to speak – Jessica Schrock Ringenberg

Above is the link to Jessica’s post.  Take the time today to visit her blog and read her wonderful words.  I pray that you find them as stirring and inspiring as I did.

Shalom!

Finding the Gate

Shannon MartinLeave a comment

The dust is beginning to settle and another annual conference assembly is in the books.  I started out this weekend with great trepidation and it wasn’t without cause.

We fellowshiped together.

We worshipped together.

We felt frustrated with each other.

We continued to ignore some of the elephants in our midst, but identified other elephants.

We built up fences between us.

And then just when all hope seemed to be lost, when deep and permanent fractures seemed to loom on the horizon for the Ohio Mennonite Conference of MC USA, the Holy Spirit moved among us and helped us find a gate that opened in our dividing fence.

We, as a conference, have found a way to draw a line in the sand, but also leave enough space to allow grace and mercy to intercede when needed.

In the midst of emotional highs and lows, some very gifted pastors helped us to remember that we are all different and come from different places, and that is a good thing! While all six pastors that spoke to us delivered wonderful messages that were incredibly timely for the issues we were working on, two of these pastors in particular stuck out and struck deep chords in me.

Pastor Jess Engle started his time with us with a response time.  He asked us, “Who is the church?”, to which we all responded, “WE are the church!”  He made us look at each other and remember that we are all beloved children of God, not nameless, faceless foes on the other side of the fence.

Another pastor, Jessica Schrock Ringenburg from Zion Mennonite in Archibold, gave an inspired sermon during morning worship that was beyond amazing!  Her incredibly powerful message, paraphrased here, reminded us that:

Paul spent his time writing letters.  Letters to the early churches that were struggling in very similar ways to our churches today.  Each of those letters was about the same thing, addressing the various issues that were arising in those congregations.  The Gentile/Greek Christians who valued freedom and spirit leading that were at odds with the Jewish Christians who valued traditions and laws.  Just like us today, each of those groups thought that they had the market cornered on doing church the right way.  Their way.  Both sides wanted Paul to champion their way, but Paul picks neither as the right way.  He consistently remind them,that the only right way is the way of the cross.  Two thousand years later that hasn’t changed.

Church, and how we do church, is a very personal thing to each of us.  Just as we are all inherently different, no two people have the same exact idea of what it is we need to do in order to be the church together.  But Jesus showed us exactly how to be church together.  It is not the Church of Us.  It is not the Church of Them.  We are the church and the right way to be church together is to go the way of the cross.

Our pastors can rest easy with the blessed assurance that our conference is standing behind them.  Our leadership now has some clear action steps to take.  Only the Holy Spirit working among us could have stemmed the tide of destruction we were heading for as a conference.

Our work has only just begun.

We must now dig in and work diligently with each other as we continue to work through the remaining elephants in the room.  But won’t it be so much easier to extend hospitality to those elephants now that we have a gate which they can walk through?

Because of the gate, we can now move forward together.

Praise God, who is good!

Showing Hospitality to Elephants

Shannon Martin1 Comment

As the arctic air subsides and the frozen tundra known as North East Ohio begins to thaw we start to look for the first signs of spring.  For me, one of those signs that spring is upon us takes the shape of the Annual Conference Assembly of the Ohio Mennonite Conference of the Mennonite Church USA.

The past year has taken a toll on our conference and it was with some feelings of trepidation that I set out with our group from Midway this morning to drive to Martins Creek Mennonite located in Millersburg, Ohio.  The somber air of the business sessions that took place today are a testament to all of the issues that are currently circulating, as we all try to ignore the elephant in the room that has become a regular member of our assembly.

There are some spaces at our round tables that are now permanently empty because the unrest and turmoil has led some of our congregations to decide to leave our conference over polity issues.  Their exodus has left a gaping wound that many of us are still trying to understand and seems to be at odds with the scripture theme that was chosen for this assembly, love and hospitality, which is found in Romans 12: 9-13:

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.  Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. (NRSV)

The lighter moods of past assemblies have vanished. In their place is a thick blanket of tension that is hanging in the air, making it hard to articulate intelligent conversations that are open and honest during our table discussions.  The atmosphere of grace and love that characterized the conversations that took place at the special delegate session last August is nowhere to be found.

Further frustrations are being caused by the presence of talking pieces (TP), new to the tables this year, that limit each person to talking for just one minute at a time.  You may only speak when you are physically holding the TP.  Perhaps the intention of including this new circle table format was an effort to ensure everyone had a chance to speak, but the reality of it is that it is hampering the flow of discussion.  It is also shifting our focus each time we have to stop and wait for the TP to be transferred to the next person with something to share, preventing real conversations from taking place.

We are stepping on the sacred toes of group discernment which is a key hallmark of our Anabaptist beliefs, and what sets us apart from our Catholic and Protestant sisters and brothers.

The resolution that has been brought to the table, that is supposed to help calm the tensions caused by the decision by Mountain States Conference to license a pastor in a committed same sex relationship, still lacks the clarity that we as delegates keep seeking.  It is all well and good to say that we affirm Article 19 of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, which is one of the governing books that contains the articles of what we as Mennonites believe together.  However, if we don’t draw a clear line in the sand, how can we say that we are affirming it?  The ambiguity created by this lack of a clear stand makes it impossible to determine what the appropriate sanctions should be for pastors and/or congregations that step across the line.

In addition, the lack of clarity makes it hard for our pastors to make decisions within their own congregations.  How can they make a stand on one side of the line or the other if they don’t have feel like they have the full support at the state conference level to back them up?  This current haze is leaving our pastors partially crippled in their duties instead of bolstering them up as they go about their kingdom work.

By the end of the second business session it felt to me as if there was a growing distrust for the leadership in general.  The delegates and their congregations are having a hard time trusting that the leadership of Ohio Conference will lead us in the direction that the majority of our congregations have clearly stated we want to go.

At the same time, the leadership seems to be nervous about losing more congregations.  They are trying in every way possible to find out if any more of the remaining congregations are on the verge of leaving the conference.  This is causing, in my opinion, the leadership to lose focus of the important polity matters at hand during this assembly.  They are focusing instead on the resources they provide for congregations.  What they provide is very important to help each individual congregation achieve the good works they are persuing, but it doesn’t feel like this is the right time and place to be discussing those resources.

One of the things that I have always appreciated about the annual conference assembly is the variety of ways and styles of worship we see as we all gather to worship together.  We embrace and celebrate the various ways we see our sisters and brothers of the Ohio Mennonite Conference preaching, teaching, and worshiping in song.  We give thanks for all of the different Spirit filled ways we see people being led.  I come away from those experiences refreshed and renewed with fresh fuel for the fire that is burning in my soul to do my part to help spread the love of God.

How do we figure out a way to convert that openness and acceptance we have for the different worship styles among us into how we enter into the conversations that need to be going on during the business sessions?   If we can bridge this gap we might finally be able to not only address that elephant that has been with us during our sessions this past year,  but actually start to extend some of that hospitality to the elephant and begin to move forward.  Until we can extend that hospitality to the elephant, we will never be able to come together to dig in and to do the work that is at hand.

We live in a broker world that seems to be getting darker and more evil with each passing day.  It is up to us to come together and to discern a clear path for our denomination which will in turn direct our future.  We are responsible for sowing the seeds of the kingdom.  Let us come together in love and fearlessly let the Holy Spirit move among us to facilitate our conversations and to direct our path as a body of believers.

So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.  So then, whenever we have a opportunity let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. (Galatians 6: 9-11, NRSV)

Falling Down

Shannon MartinLeave a comment

Lately I have been struggling more than usual on this journey called life.  I have been finding myself filled with the bitterness of disappointments and wallowing in despair about life in general.  Last week all of that yuckiness built up to an all time high and situations at work allowed those feeling to implode leaving me an emotional and stressed out wreck.

Last night I attended the Winter Cluster meeting for the Ohio Conference of Mennonite Church USA for our region.  During the devotional time, Regional Pastor Ralph Reinford, talked about seasons and the different seasons of life.  He went on to say that no matter what the season is, it will always pass and change to another season.

That made me reflect on what I have been experiencing lately and it filled me with new hope.  I have been going through a season of frustrations, and it too shall pass.

At home we have been dealing with the changing moods and attitudes of our eleven year old son, Max.  I would voluntarily go back to the terrible twos!  In addition to the changing family dynamics, impatience with our finances has me chomping at the bit to FINALLY purchase our own home.  We are so very close!

On the church front there are the usual issues that come up while serving in a small congregation.  Changes are being made either too quickly or too slowly, depending upon who is asked.  Couple that with the polity issues that are happening around the larger Mennonite denomination as a whole, and there is a recipe for instant frustration.

Then there is the guilty frustrations that come when you have new dreams that you can’t quite seem to make happen.  I want to embrace this dream of writing and run with it.  Unfortunately reality doesn’t agree with my agenda at the moment.  It has been incredibly hard to find the time to write regular blog posts, let alone focus on other areas of this dream.  I would like to find the time to learn more about the craft of writing to improve my new-found skills.  There is also an impatience because I feel so strongly that God has been calling me to this but I don’t know what more I need to be doing with this gift.  Should I be focusing on magazine articles?  Is it a book that I need to write?  Fiction or Nonfiction?

However, it is the stresses I have been experiencing at work that were the final straws on the proverbial camel’s back that broke me last week and pushed my frustration level to the moon and back.  By Friday afternoon I felt utterly disrespected and disillusioned.  The sting of betrayal from a superior was more than I could bear and the blindness of the said supervisor that allowed the perceptions of another employee to take precedence over my proven track record of integrity and team work was like salt to the wounds.

I went home for the weekend belittled, indignant, and hurt.  Hard work should be the stick we are measured by, not whether we have a degree or what gender we are or what the opinions of other are, right?  Why is this happening?

Monday morning rolled around.  Leaving the safe shelter of my home to go to work was incredibly difficult.  The events of last week still plagued my troubled soul and The Dixie Chicks song Not Ready To Make Nice was playing in my head.  I quietly hid in my office for most of the day still seething internally.

I had heard a Proverbs 31 Ministry Moment on the radio on my way to work that said if I wanted God to fight my battles for me then I need to ask him to do that.  When I laid down my head to go to sleep Monday night that thought was bouncing around in my head.

I spent a very restless night and eventually woke up around 3:00 am.  By 4:30 am I gave up on trying to sleep and decided to get up and spend some extra time with God in his word.  I was looking for his comfort and some answers.

By the time I picked up my Bible I had concluded that I can’t change people’s perspectives about me.  I had also decided that if someone labels you as “difficult”  it is not because you actually are, but because they just don’t want to hear what you have to say.  And that is okay because it is their problem and not mine.  They must be insecure or stubborn, and they are afraid of what might happen if what you have to say brings about a change.

I was looking for a battle plan.  Something I could use to fix the injustices.  So I looked to a Psalm that has helped me in the past.  In Psalm 25, David is asking for guidance and deliverance from his enemies:

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.  Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; Let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.  

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.  Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.  He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.  All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.  Who are they that fear the Lord?  He will teach them the way that they should choose.

They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land.  The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them.  My eyes are ever towards the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.  Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress.  Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.  O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.  May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. 

Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles. (NRSV)

Revelation!  A flash of insight popped into my head — I am just as much to blame for difficulties I encounter and the frustrations that I am feeling if I don’t trust in the Lord with all my heart.  My reluctance to let go and let God lead me through my day has created an opening of bitterness that the Devil is waiting to use to thwart my purposes.  This impatience on my part is what is truly causing my unsettled mind!  I can’t help how others act  or change their perceptions and assumptions about me and I don’t need to.

 I need to humble myself and allow Yahweh to lead me.  He will guide me along the right paths and he will fight any battles for me.  I just need to ask him to be my defender.  Then I need to allow him to actually lead me gracefully from season to season.

Tuesday morning looked a lot different in comparison to Monday.  A humble Pixie left for work and I started off the day by reading again Psalm 25 out loud at my desk before beginning the days tasks.  For the first time in days I could feel a calm and peace descending over me.

Today I ran across Jeremiah 17:7-8 and I am convinced that it is Yahweh telling me that I am on the right path as long as I continue to trust EVERYTHING to him:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.  It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. (NRSV)

These two pieces of scripture from the Old Testament are going to be my mantra, at work especially, going forward.  I have printed both passages out and they are now taped on my wall right next to my desk.  When I arrive each morning I will be using these passages as prayers to help me center myself for the day and to help set my tone and attitude.  It is also handy to have them right next to me as I work through the day.  I can quickly glance over and re-humble myself to continue on with strength, grace, and integrity.

Falling Down Picture 1Falling Down Picture 2

We all fall down.  It is up to us to choose to trust in the Lord and let him help us get back up, or to give a victory to the evil tempter by staying knocked down to dwell on things we can’t change and that are out of our control.  No matter what, though, the love and mercy of our heavenly Father is always available to us.  Whether we start over right now, tomorrow, or next month, it is never to late to get back up.

It doesn’t matter how many times we fall down either.  He will  always surround us with his love and help us pick up the pieces and start again. Every. Single. Time.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23, NRSV)

Dying Discernment

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This coming Monday marks an anniversary of sorts for MC USA.  For some it marks a milestone and a step forward, for others it marks a death knell and destruction.  It is the one year anniversary of the Mountain States Conference’s (a conference of Mennonite Church USA) decision to license Theda Good as a pastor.

What is so notable about that?  Women have been licensed as Mennonite pastors before.  What makes the licensing of this particular woman so momentous?  The answer is that she is in a committed same-sex relationship.   What this historic licensing has done is spark a year of turmoil.

It has started dialogues on whether we need to rethink the provision in the Confession of Faith that defines marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman.  It has also started conversations on what does the Bible really say about same-sex relationships.  It has us searching for answers to questions about whether homosexual relationships are always wrong, or could they be right if it is a committed relationship between two people.

It has been my experience that we as a denomination strive to include all of God’s children in our folds.  We all come with baggage, our own particular brands of sin and shame.   We are all humans living in a broken world.  However we don’t allow all to serve as leaders in our congregations, as leaders are held to a higher standard according to 1 Timothy 3:1-13:

The saying is sure:  whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.  Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, and apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.  He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way — for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?  He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.

Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not greedy for money; they must hold fast to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience.  And let them first be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons.  Women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things.  Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their children and their households well; for those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. (NRSV)

So we have standards in place for the people who are leading our congregations.  We chose pastors to shepherd our flocks based on credentials and their moral character and worship and various other types of leaders based on their values and whether they have a heart for worship and/or leadership.  Those standards have been developed over the years by our denomination through conversations, prayers, and community discernment.

One of the good things that has come out of this is that the conversations are no longer being delayed and hidden.  The church body at large is going to have to address how we as a denomination move forward with multiple issues that arise when the topic of homosexuality comes up, not just in terms of leadership roles.

Do we begin the process that will change our Confession of Faith or do we reaffirm that Confession of Faith?  How can we address polity issues with grace and in love?  What measures can we utilize for accountability among conferences when we feel a conference is acting in violation of our shared beliefs?

In the days ahead the Mennonite denomination needs to have some challenging discussions on very personal topics.  We are being called at this moment in time to discern some very hard questions.

However there are also bad things coming out of this. Church dissention is running rampant.  Conferences have different views on whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Congregations are withdrawing from conferences. Many are feeling let down by MC USA’s perceived lack of response to the Mountain States decision,  whether they were waiting for the church at the national level to levy support for the decision or administer discipline.  New networks are forming, which could possibly be a good thing, but are they forming prematurely?

In addition to churches withdrawing outright from their conferences, others are choosing to remain part of an MC USA congregation but to boycott the scheduled national convention this summer in Kansas City, MS.  They are choosing to stay away, and therefore are excluding themselves from the conversations.

And that is my biggest cause for concern.  We as a denomination have always valued community discernment on matters of theology and beliefs.  How does leading by the Holy Spirit occur in community discernment if we aren’t all showing up for the community conversations?

At the end of the day, no matter how this plays out, some will be happy and others will be angry or hurt. Inevitably there will most likely be some church divisions and splits, but we all need to be present and take part in the conversations going on now.  We need to prepare our hearts and minds and use prayer and scriptures for guidance as we relate with one another on our differing views.

Most of all, we need to proceed with love.  Show up and be present.  Pray for grace and mercy.   Discern together with the Holy Spirit and be open to where he leads us.  And no matter what, bring glory to God in all that we do.

Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another.  The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name.  They shall be mine, says the Lord of host, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them.  Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. (Malachi 3: 16-18, NRSV)