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June 1998 Vol. 5 3 / N o . 2 2 In this issue, our history section leads off with an article about the Mennonite-founded Grace Bible Institute in Omaha, Nebraska, by William Trollinger. Trollinger teaches in the history department at the University of Dayton, Ohio, and lives in Bluffton. He formerly taught at Messiah College and at the School of the In this issue Ozarks. Also in the history section is a translation of an account of the history of the Mennonite congregation in Berdyansk, South Russia, written by one of its leaders, Leonhard Sudermann, and translated by John B. Toews. Our arts section contains a chapter from a novel in progress by Russell Binkley who grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and now teaches sixth grade in Illinois. Also included is a set of new poems by Carla Reimer of Newton, Kansas, recently named Director of Public Information and News Services for Bethel College. In our religion section, the article by Lois Barrett of the General Conference Commission on Home Ministries was originally presented to a New Life Ministries meeting in Elgin, Illinois, in February 1998. This issue also contains our annual Mennonite bibliography. The volume of Mennonite-related publishing gets larger every year. To conclude the issue we have our usual selection of book reviews. Photo credits: Grace Bible Institute Charis yearbooks, pp. 5,6,8,11,12,13; Mennonite Library and Archives, p. 17. Mennonite Life 3 H is to r y Grace Bible Institute and the Advance of I Fundamentalism among the Mennonites William Vance Trollinger, Jr. Contents Building a Mennonite Church in Berdyansk Leonhard Sudermann translated by John B. Toews Arts Comic Books Russell Binkley 24 Poems Carla Reimer 30 Religion and Theology Anabaptist Evangelism in the Context of Modernity and Postmodernity Lois Barrett Mennonite Bibliography 1997 Barbara A. Thiesen 38 Book Reviews 51 i i September 1997 4 VI i I I i a m Vance Trollinger, / r . r race Bible Institute of Bible schools such as Moody Bible Omaha, Nebraska was founded in Institute or Bible Institute of Los 1943, and is still open today as Grace Angeles were somewhat antagonistic University. From its very inception, to the nonresistance commitments of fundamentalism and Mennonitism their Mennonite students. were intertwined at Grace. This not So, as the official histories tell only made the school a source of the story, Grace Bible Institute was Grace Bible great controversy among created: a Mennonite institution Mennonites in the Midwest; it also designed to serve Mennonite youth. Institute and the makes Grace a good case study for The positive effects were soon felt, Advance of trying to understand better how as Grace sent Biblically sound fundamentalists and Mennonites pastors and missionaries to work in Fundamentalism have interacted in North America. Mennonite churches and on the among th e As the school's official histories mission field. But the school never tell it, the story of Grace Bible limited enrollment just to Mennonites Institute is a story of a school that Mennonites. As time went on, more was both Mennonite and and more non-Mennonite students fundamentalist, but primarily began to attend Grace. This reality William Vance Mennonite. According to these led the Board of Directors, in 1971, official accounts, the founders of to hire its first non-Mennonite Trollinger, Jr. Grace had two primary purposes in president. According to the school's mind. First, they wanted to create a latest official history, this marked fundamentalist institution to counter the beginning of a "new era" at the modernist-infected Mennonite Grace, one in which the school was colleges (primarily Bethel College, of clearly interdenominational, not North Newton, Kansas) that were specifically Mennonite, while at the spreading anti-Mennonite, anti- same time still treasuring its Christian liberalism among Mennonite heritage.1 Mennonites. In particular, the From its very inception, Grace founders were concerned about the Bible Institute was bitterly criticized spread of liberalism among the by some Mennonite leaders. It was General Conference Mennonites, attacked for being a divisive force which was the second largest among Mennonites; more to the Mennonite denomination in the point, the institution was charged United States, and which was with not being a truly Mennonite strongest in the Midwest. And school. Many of these charges were second, those who established Grace made by the General Conference wanted to provide those Mennonite Mennonite hierarchy, even though youth who wanted a fundamentalist (or, more likely, because) nine out of Bible school education with a the ten founders of Grace were Mennonite alternative. During the affiliated with the General World War II years, fundamentalist Conference Mennonites, and the Mennonite Life William Vance Trollin ger, / r . 5 C. H. Suckau 1947 majority of Grace students in the Mennonite church;" moreover, as an early years came out of this inter-Mennonite institution, it is not particular Mennonite "divisive but, [rather,! unifying in its denomination. C. E. Krehbiel, attitudes." Finally, and as he General Conference president at the elaborated upon in a later Grace time of Grace's founding, went to Tidings article, Grace Bible was "not the extent of questioning the in opposition to nor in competition motives of the men who established with other [Mennonite! institutions Grace Bible; he also recommended of learning."3 that General Conference On occasion, Grace Mennonites concentrate their efforts administrators used their "Grace on supporting denominational Bible Institute" column in the enterprises, as opposed to this Mennonite Weekly Review, an inter- renegade Bible institute.2 Mennonite newspaper with a In response to these charges, national circulation, to vindicate administrators at the Omaha school their school as a truly Mennonite spent a good amount of time and institution.4 One such column was energy reassuring their critics that written by P. P. Tschetter in January Grace Bible Institute was, indeed, a of 1949. At the time he wrote this truly Mennonite institution. As the piece, he was serving as Grace's field school's first permanent president, representative.3 In that role, C. H. Suckau, proclaimed in an early Tschetter, who was also a Mennonite issue of the school's periodical, Grace minister, visited Mennonite churches Tidings: "Grace Bible Institute throughout the Midwest maintains loyalty to the tenets of the encouraging the Mennonite faithful September 1997 6 William Vance T r o l l i n g e r , ! r . Grace Bible to send their money and their youth the Advisory Council went from 90% to his school. In his January 1949 to 80% Mennonite; the dean and, Institute Mennonite Weekly Review column, most important, the president still Tschetter made use of virtually all had to be Mennonite. It was not until 1949 the standard arguments that had the very end of the 1960s that the been offered by Grace administrators constitution was modified to state since the school's founding. He only that "it was preferable" to hire a produced a detailed and vigorous Mennonite as president, which was apologetic for the "Mennoniteness" followed by the hiring of non- of Grace Bible Institute.6 Mennonite Robert Benton in 1971.7 Tschetter's first argument was The founders of Grace Bible that virtually all of the Grace Institute were Mennonites, but they administrators were required to be were not the products of Mennonite Mennonites. On one level he was higher education. Nine of the ten absolutely correct. These restrictions founders were connected with the were relaxed only slightly in 1956, General Conference Mennonites, but when the Board of Directors went eight of the ten had studied at from 100% to 80% Mennonite, and fundamentalist Bible schools, with M E N N O N I T E L i E E William Vance Trollin ger, J r . 7 five of them having attended Moody the Grace Bible Institute catalog. What Bible Institute. To underscore further is interesting about this sketch (and the Bible school connection, five of any historical summary contained in a the six Mennonite presidents of the college catalog) is not that it provides school had attended fundamentalist definitive proof that this happened or Bible schools (and the sixth, Joseph that happened in Grace's past, but, Schmidt, was a Grace Bible instead, that it affords us a window by graduate). which to see how Grace Bible Institute C. H. Suckau, who served as the understood itself, and how it school's first permanent president, presented itself to the public. Tschetter was educated at the Union was correct in noting that, as of Missionary Training Institute, January 1949, the school's catalog did graduating in 1910. He went from emphasize Grace Bible's Mennonite there to India as a General origins and purposes. The historical Conference Mennonite missionary. sketch began with the observation In India he became a zealous that for "a number of years" many dispensationalist, which may have ministers and lay persons had "keenly contributed to the tensions that felt" the "need of a Bible Institute for developed between himself and his the training of Christian workers of fellow missionaries. After his the Mennonite denomination." While somewhat forced departure from the there existed "a number of small mission field, Suckau then acceded denominational Bible Schools and to the pulpit of the First Mennonite Academies," these schools were too Church in Berne, Indiana. While small and did not provide in-depth there, he strongly promoted Bible training. The one exception was dispensational premillennialism, Oklahoma Bible Academy, but its attacked the General Conference location in an isolated small town Mennonite denomination, and limited both its influence and its encouraged youth of the church to ability to attract students. With the attend fundamentalist Bible schools blessings and active support of (in lieu of Mennonite colleges).