Anna used a few excerpts from Melvin Burkholder's recent sermon on the covering, as a springboard for her concern.
Anna, I sure wanted to respond to your comments on the covering. So I asked my husband... This is what he said.
#1. "Why must it be such a radical style?" I question, Who has a radical style? Set a drawing from the catacombs of an early Christian woman with her ample flowing veil beside the picture of a neat little Easterner with her beautiful hair showing on the front, and maybe or maybe not a tiny strip showing of her little transparent cap sticking somewhere on the back. And now tell me, who has a radical style? Who would be more socially accepted in this world? Who would be more socially accepted to get a job at Good's Store?
Or consider this - Which cloth of the two would work to cover the rest of the body? The Bible says, "Let her be covered!" Shouldn't we use something that actually covers? Now we would never dis-fellowship someone with the Eastern-style covering. But actually commanding this transparent style before having communion with them?? Come on! And the same expression fits for going so far as to call it an ideal style.
#2. Then Melvin's one statement - "Any pattern allowing a great deal of personal variation degenerates into female vanity" - I respond, Yes, it certainly does, when people are used to being governed instead of governing themselves. A church relying on a rigid discipline besides the Bible invariably results in people getting used to being governed, instead of governing themselves. See any danger there? Being governed by others instead of governing ourselves? Truly deciding to follow Jesus goes along with a desire to please Him, with our veils, our dresses, and our entire lives. And when a group of people come together with that kind of desire, and break bread together, and appoint a faithful leader or two, that's what a CHURCH is. And of course we check with the brethren where it is fitting and delight in submitting one to another in the fear of God. But right now any of the families, at any time, at the husband's call, of course, can change their women's veiling style. Sure, they can go ahead and change it for the worse. But here's the key - they're completely free to totally overhaul their coverings for the better! Look at this - this is a vital ingredient for any church that is to be called alive. Choose this, or choose programmed robotism.
People who are used to being governed by rules already made for them in regards to biblical areas that are left rather open can never excel. Old Tertullian said, "All proof of abstinence is lost when excess is impossible." Virtue is no longer virtue if its opposite is not accessible. Sure, robots can perform beautifully, but there is no beauty in their surrender to their service. There is no cross that has been taken up, no self-denial, the whole thing is just as natural as being born into a Mennonite family.
I'm talking about the problem of Anabaptists accepting the fact that "any pattern allowing a great deal of variation degenerates into female vanity". Do Christians automatically degenerate to that which is evil, or do they press toward the mark? Do they love the world that dearly? Early Christians and early Anabaptists were guarded from disobeying Jesus' teachings by a true surrender to all of His teachings. And that included continually going out and reproving this world of sin. When the men in a church are in their work places, and in their preaching time on the streets and in public places, continually reproving women of immodesty, jewelry, and uncovered heads, as being a part of what it means to follow Jesus, are their wives' coverings going to get bigger or smaller? You judge. I guess sometime their coverings might get smaller, or they might lose them altogether, but I promise you, their continual reproving of this world shall have ceased first.
Do not interpret these sayings as arrogance. This is how simple the Gospel really is, and it should scare us to death, to think of what will be left when Jesus comes back, and gets through pulling off all the things holding up this big structure of ours - covering strings, suspenders, hats and bonnets, plain suits, black paint, beardlessness, homeschool-lessness, and fear of excommunication for lack of these things... What will He find remaining?
Some of these things we never think about until we Truly open ourselves - open ourselves to truth outside of the zone we always knew and held dear. So Daniel and all other men, come to Monett, and get an eyeful. Go along with the brethren to the street on weekends, or in front of evangelical church events, reproving of divorce and remarriage, lack of covering, you name it. There's a REAL battle to be fought!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Message to Anabaptist families who are interested in a church that is more alive
Dear Michael and all,
Where should I start?
Well, It starts with following Jesus. I make a decision to surrender to whatever He asks. Then I find fellowship with a few others who have decided the same thing. We have fellowship one with another. We encourage one another to obey the Lord. We break bread together every week during a love feast or fellowship meal- whatever you might call it. Our time spent together consists largely of rejoicing in the work of the Lord, receiving admonition from a faithful servant whom we have chosen for our elder, and hearing and telling the brethren of the things that have happened to us through the week in our preaching of the gospel.
This is our simple life. We don't live together, ( though a number of the single brethren do, in and around our meeting place. When we started, we ABANDONED our mold of what we thought our church should look like. We only remained convinced that if we are not obedient to Christ and his apostles teachings, we have nothing.
So, we called ourselves only followers of Jesus - church of Monett. Lightly casting aside even the name anabaptist, because we knew that their story was written already- it was not ours to take for our own. We allow Jesus to build our church while we remain loyal to Him.
...and being loyal to Him includes going into all the world and teaching men to observe all the things He commanded us. So we go out into the highways, byways, and churches and universities in our land and into many foreign countries, wherever there are people, preaching the things Christ taught about how we should live that the churches of today are hiding from people - the cross, the things He taught that bring a cross. And we found that occupying ourselves in that business keeps us fighting real battles instead of fake ones, and needing to stay alive and kicking. Then lo and behold, it results in a unity among brethren that we never quite envisioned before. And that without any written standard, but the standard of our Lord.
We're not bragging, we're in awe. There are people in places here and in Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, DR, India, and Philippines who hear the Word, take up their cross, (meaning separating from an adulterous marriage, women dressing modestly and covering their heads, stopping the laying up of treasures on earth, giving instead of defending themselves, and forsaking worldly education for the school of obedience to Christ). They become baptized,(often Rebaptized) And then they go right out on the streets and in front of churches and preach it to the world, at the cost of spouse, family, and friends and all they held dear, in esteem for the reproach of Christ. And they become a church. They and a few others who cast their lot with them.
All this makes our lives not so simple anymore, we find ourselves being spent for the kingdom of heaven. Any extra funds that we can spare in our individual labors and savings we voluntarily give to the kingdom whether for trips or another brother in need.
There are weaknesses we see in communal living, we've done it enough to notice the subtle removal of a father's leadership in his own life, home and family-- something we find to be very necessary if a man is to be a strong preacher of the Gospel in this world, or leader in the church.
We've also seen the inability to each lay by in store for the Lords work, or to give individually to him that needeth.
A little experience has also shown that a rule book or standard list apart from the bible where one can resort when questions come along, is a crutch that WEAKENS more than strengthens the feeble knees. Predecided manmade guidelines are prescribed often where the Great Commission is neglected. The world lover among us is admonished, but not spoonfed. He is welcome to leave and eventually does. If he has a heart for the Lord, he makes decisions on his own to separate himself from the world. And with time we find him becoming truely a part of us. Sadly,too, rules often hinder the Sincere from going BEYOND the accepted practice in their desire to be true to Gods word.
I mention these observations to encourage you to abandon, like we did, the particular pattern of church or community in history you would like to emulate, and take the risk of failure while SIMPLY FOLLOWING JESUS, and loving Him enough to obey His Words, cost what it costs.
...and to tell you a little secret... We then pick up the early Christian writings, or the martyrs mirror, the secret of the strength, or any other history of some hated, dispised, but faithful-to-Jesus group, and our hearts quiver with the realization that our spirit bears witness with their spirit, and with God's Spirit; and that we have " mystic, sweet, communion with those whose rest is won." We find that exchanging anabaptism for JESUS results in an uncanny resemblance to that same persecuted group from the past.
Not to say that if you surrender to Jesus' leadership you"ll NOT live in community. Just surrender all your ideas to Him and let His Bride be HIS. Allow Him to be the Founder and Fashioner the whole way! What if he doesn't highly esteem all of our historic practices.
Wherefore we labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. Yeah, to please Him!
By the way, we're here to encourage you in any way we can. I'd like to talk with you on the phone, too. My number is 4174898648 God bless you.
-Marcus and the brethren at Monett
Where should I start?
Well, It starts with following Jesus. I make a decision to surrender to whatever He asks. Then I find fellowship with a few others who have decided the same thing. We have fellowship one with another. We encourage one another to obey the Lord. We break bread together every week during a love feast or fellowship meal- whatever you might call it. Our time spent together consists largely of rejoicing in the work of the Lord, receiving admonition from a faithful servant whom we have chosen for our elder, and hearing and telling the brethren of the things that have happened to us through the week in our preaching of the gospel.
This is our simple life. We don't live together, ( though a number of the single brethren do, in and around our meeting place. When we started, we ABANDONED our mold of what we thought our church should look like. We only remained convinced that if we are not obedient to Christ and his apostles teachings, we have nothing.
So, we called ourselves only followers of Jesus - church of Monett. Lightly casting aside even the name anabaptist, because we knew that their story was written already- it was not ours to take for our own. We allow Jesus to build our church while we remain loyal to Him.
...and being loyal to Him includes going into all the world and teaching men to observe all the things He commanded us. So we go out into the highways, byways, and churches and universities in our land and into many foreign countries, wherever there are people, preaching the things Christ taught about how we should live that the churches of today are hiding from people - the cross, the things He taught that bring a cross. And we found that occupying ourselves in that business keeps us fighting real battles instead of fake ones, and needing to stay alive and kicking. Then lo and behold, it results in a unity among brethren that we never quite envisioned before. And that without any written standard, but the standard of our Lord.
We're not bragging, we're in awe. There are people in places here and in Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, DR, India, and Philippines who hear the Word, take up their cross, (meaning separating from an adulterous marriage, women dressing modestly and covering their heads, stopping the laying up of treasures on earth, giving instead of defending themselves, and forsaking worldly education for the school of obedience to Christ). They become baptized,(often Rebaptized) And then they go right out on the streets and in front of churches and preach it to the world, at the cost of spouse, family, and friends and all they held dear, in esteem for the reproach of Christ. And they become a church. They and a few others who cast their lot with them.
All this makes our lives not so simple anymore, we find ourselves being spent for the kingdom of heaven. Any extra funds that we can spare in our individual labors and savings we voluntarily give to the kingdom whether for trips or another brother in need.
There are weaknesses we see in communal living, we've done it enough to notice the subtle removal of a father's leadership in his own life, home and family-- something we find to be very necessary if a man is to be a strong preacher of the Gospel in this world, or leader in the church.
We've also seen the inability to each lay by in store for the Lords work, or to give individually to him that needeth.
A little experience has also shown that a rule book or standard list apart from the bible where one can resort when questions come along, is a crutch that WEAKENS more than strengthens the feeble knees. Predecided manmade guidelines are prescribed often where the Great Commission is neglected. The world lover among us is admonished, but not spoonfed. He is welcome to leave and eventually does. If he has a heart for the Lord, he makes decisions on his own to separate himself from the world. And with time we find him becoming truely a part of us. Sadly,too, rules often hinder the Sincere from going BEYOND the accepted practice in their desire to be true to Gods word.
I mention these observations to encourage you to abandon, like we did, the particular pattern of church or community in history you would like to emulate, and take the risk of failure while SIMPLY FOLLOWING JESUS, and loving Him enough to obey His Words, cost what it costs.
...and to tell you a little secret... We then pick up the early Christian writings, or the martyrs mirror, the secret of the strength, or any other history of some hated, dispised, but faithful-to-Jesus group, and our hearts quiver with the realization that our spirit bears witness with their spirit, and with God's Spirit; and that we have " mystic, sweet, communion with those whose rest is won." We find that exchanging anabaptism for JESUS results in an uncanny resemblance to that same persecuted group from the past.
Not to say that if you surrender to Jesus' leadership you"ll NOT live in community. Just surrender all your ideas to Him and let His Bride be HIS. Allow Him to be the Founder and Fashioner the whole way! What if he doesn't highly esteem all of our historic practices.
Wherefore we labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. Yeah, to please Him!
By the way, we're here to encourage you in any way we can. I'd like to talk with you on the phone, too. My number is 4174898648 God bless you.
-Marcus and the brethren at Monett
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