Dear Blooming Glen Friends,
"By the grace of God, we seek to live and proclaim the good news of reconciliation in Jesus Christ. As part of the one body of Christ at all times and places, we hold the following to be central to our belief and practice…
… In these convictions we draw inspiration from the Anabaptist forebearers of the 16th century, who modeled radical discipleship to Jesus Christ. We seek to walk in his name by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we confidently await Christ’s return and the final fulfillment of God’s kingdom.
The most recent Anabaptist confession of faith, known as the "Statement of Shared Convictions of Global Anabaptists," was adopted in 2006. I helped to host the meetings of the Mennonite World Conference General Council in Pasadena, California that adopted a seven-point confessional statement that Anabaptists leaders from national church bodies around the world agreed was a sufficient summary of our common beliefs. This statement doesn't replace our "Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (1995)," but it does provide us with a starting point to define our faith identity as Mennonites in relationship with sisters and brothers around the world.
Christ will return! The Statement of Shared Convictions of Global Anabaptists concludes by reminding us that the 500-year-old Anabaptist view of discipleship remains our constant. We are committed to following Jesus daily in life. In the present, as we follow Christ, we rely on the Holy Spirit for power to follow Christ. And we wait with eager patience for the sure and certain of Jesus, who will complete the arrival of the kingdom. The world as it is, will give way to the world as God has intended it to be.
In summary, as Anabaptists around the world, we seek to express a Christian faith grounded in a historic attempt to overcome the violent, controlling tendencies of Christendom. We seek to express a sustaining and sustainable contemporary faith by being and doing in the Way of Jesus. And we seek to look to a future when God fully reigns over a new creation with justice and love.
This Statement of Shared Convictions of Global Anabaptists reminds us that God’s purpose is to repair the creation we broke. It teaches us that Jesus is the exact likeness of God. It prompts us to acknowledge that discipleship (following Jesus) is the whole point of the church. It points out to us that the Bible is the essential book of the church. It declares that the Holy Spirit is the sole source of our ability to make peace. It asserts that Global Anabaptist Christians need to gather to worship regularly. And it proclaims that we have much for which we witness to the world about the good news of Jesus.
So, what’s the use of this statement? It doesn’t take the place of our Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, but it does supplement it, and it gives us a new clarity to the essentials of what it means to follow Jesus. In that respect, it is a good introduction to the way global Christians who understand themselves as Anabaptists understand our faith commitments. We are not so much a doctrinally compliant people, as much as we are a relationally connected people. We connect to God – a relationally triune person who created everything. We connect to God’s creation – we broke it through disobedience, and for those of us walking with Jesus, we are at work with God to repair creation. We who follow Christ daily in life care for one another, and we care for those who do not yet follow Christ daily in life. We who walk in the way of Jesus informed by the historic Anabaptist movement form our doctrine from seeking right relationships with God, with one another, and with our neighbors near and far, friend and foe. So, let’s love God. Let’s love one another. Let’s love our neighbors. The Holy Spirit will help us figure out the rest.
Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net
PS - Don’t forget, Mosaic Conference Assembly is this coming Saturday, November 4, at Souderton Mennonite Church, 9:30 am-4:30 pm. I will be away and unavailable Monday, November 6 through Thursday, November 9, but will be at the Broad Street Grind in Souderton, on Friday, November 10, 3:30-4:45 pm for an end-of-the week coffee and conversation.