8 Roadside Jesus 16 Communion Questions 18 a Biblical Consideration for Adoption 32 Damaged Vets Need Healing
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www.TheMennonite.org February 17, 2009 8 Roadside Jesus 16 Communion questions 18 A biblical consideration for adoption 32 Damaged vets need healing Page 12 GRACE AND TRUTH God’s extravagant generosity o you imagine God with a clenched hand or (7 with 22 zeroes). To think of it another way, an open hand? Is the God you worship a there are 10 times as many stars as all the grains D giver or a taker? of sand on all the world’s beaches and in all the For the past year I have been soaking in the world’s deserts. God of the open hand lavished spirit of God’s generosity. The God of the Bible is complexity and majesty in the creation of the uni- the God of the open hand. Psalm 145:16 says, God, verse and the earth. “you open your hand and satisfy the desires of Why such grandeur, such beauty, such intricacy every living thing” (TNIV). The Message transla- in God’s creation? God says, “I made it for you to tion is, “Generous to a fault, you lavish your favor enjoy, to contemplate, to fire your imagination and on all creatures.” Not only do we as humans expe- to saturate your soul.” In Genesis 2:16, the Lord rience God’s generosity, but all living things, completed the Garden of Eden and gave it to plants and animals, experience it. Adam. “Here it is. For you. You are free to eat of God lavished beauty, complexity and grandeur any tree of the garden. Enjoy.” One tree Adam and in creating the world. Consider flowers. In the fall Eve were not to eat from, but that’s another story. of 2007, Amanda, my wife, and I put in a perennial “Earth is drenched in God’s affectionate satis- Clarence Rempel is flower garden across the northeast corner of our faction” (Psalm 33:5 The Message). The description pastor of First backyard. We put in 70-some plants of a dozen of God’s generous, extravagant creation continues: Mennonite varieties, and this past summer I loved walking the “The skies were made by God’s command; he Church in backyard to gaze at what was blooming, from the breathed the word and the stars popped out. He Newton, Kan. perfectly shaped trumpets of Asiatic lilies to the scooped Sea into his jug, put Ocean in his keg” profuse blooms and bright colors of impatiens. We (Psalm 33:6-7 The Message). had lilies that bloom only a day and rose bushes We become what we honor and worship. As we covered with dozens of blooms. I am mesmerized behold God as extravagantly generous, our hearts by the intense colors and the abundant blooms. will bloom with greater generosity. Our churches Did you know that there are 600 varieties of will become baskets of generosity and beacons of asters and 25,000 varieties of orchids? Those are hope. My congregation has been known to talk just two of 270,000 species of flowers. Why so poor, as if God were tightfisted. “We can’t decide. many? What extravagance! What lavish, over- We can’t find people. We don’t have money. Or we whelming beauty! God of the open hand has have it, but people won’t give it.” poured out his blessing in creation. I dream that Mennonite Church USA will I am overwhelmed by the grandeur of God’s become a generous church, because God has been creation. A thousand stars in the sky would be outrageously generous with us. “We can make up plenty. I can only keep track of a half dozen or so our minds and make decisions. We can get things by name. We can actually see about 5,000 stars done. We have willing, talented people resources. with the naked eye. Surely that would be enough. We have substantial financial resources, and we But our galaxy has 400 billion stars. And there are will commit them to God’s mission. We have been now 10 billion galaxies within reach of our most blessed to be a blessing.” Start your next church powerful telescopes. There are 70 sextillion stars board or council meeting with this litany. TM TheMennonite Vol. 12, No. 4, February 17, 2009 The Mennonite is the official publication of Mennonite Church USA. Our mission is to help readers glorify God, grow in faith and become agents of Editor: Everett J. Thomas Offices: healing and hope in the world. The Mennonite (ISSN 1522-7766) is normal- [email protected] 1700 S. Main St. ly published on the first and third Tuesdays of each month (except only one issue in August) by the board for The Mennonite, Inc. Periodical Associate editor: Gordon Houser Goshen, IN 46526-4794 postage paid at Goshen, IN 46526. Subscription rates for one year: $43.95 [email protected] phone: 800-790-2498 fax: 574-535-6050 to U.S. addresses and or $51.45 USD to Canadian addresses. Group rates Assistant Editor: Anna Groff available. Scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version [email protected] 722 Main St., P.O. Box 347 unless otherwise noted. The views expressed in this publication do not Advertising, subscriptions: Rebecca Helmuth Newton, KS 67114 necessarily represent the official positions of Mennonite Church USA, [email protected] phone: 866-866-2872 The Mennonite, or the board for The Mennonite, Inc. Bookkeeper: Celina Romero fax: 316-283-0454 [email protected] Postmaster Editorial Assistant: Nora Miller 801 N. Negley Ave. Send form 3579 to: Design: Dee Birkey Pittsburgh, PA 15206 The Mennonite phone: 412 894 8705 1700 S. Main St. Web site: www.TheMennonite.org fax: 412-363-1216 Goshen, IN 46526 2 TheMennonite February 17,2009 CONTENTS 6 7 8 Roadside Jesus We encounter Jesus when we welcome strangers.—Isaac Villegas 12 Jesus trail Walking where Jesus walked helps put us in touch with his life and teachings.—David Landis 15 Friends in need Preventing homelessness before it starts—Jan Johnson 13 16 Communion questions Communion and mission can go together.—Eleanor Kreider 19 What do the church and schools want? Greg Boyd tells Mennonite leaders ‘Mennonite culture’ is not the treasure.—Anna Groff 20 Leaders say church planting on the rise, but ‘witness’ goal difficult to measure —Anna Groff 23 EMU helps Virginia Tech’s peace center 24 Man follows call to work with homeless 11 DEPARTMENTS 2 Grace and truth God’s extravagant generosity—Clarence Rempel 4 Readers say 6 News digest 18 Speaking out A biblical consideration for adoption—C. Richie 26 For the record 30 Mediaculture A YouTube presidency—Gordon Houser 32 Editorial Damaged vets need healing—Everett J. Thomas Cover: Photo by David Landis of Anna Dintaman on the Jesus Trail. February 17,2009 TheMennonite 3 READERS SAY What about public schools? and not inclusive. What is missing is the most After reading the annual Mennonite education important quality of pastors (and all followers of issue (Jan. 20) of The Mennonite, I find myself Jesus), namely, that they follow Jesus. It is amaz- wishing for an article comparable to Laurie ing to me that a movement started by the first Oswald Robinson’s piece (“No Price Tag on Anabaptists so readily embraces institutional Priceless Anabaptist Education for the Young”) preservation as a worthy goal. This is especially that would read, “No Price Tag on Priceless Public painful because the radicals gave their lives, not to Education for the Young.” preserve institutions but to live out the call of The decision to send our boys to the local pub- Jesus as a gathered body of believers free from lic school was an intentional one, born out of many institutional constraint. It’s difficult to see how This publication discussions with friends around the campfire on welcomes your Mennonite Church USA can possibly live out the letters, either about our Mennonite Central Committee assignment in call of Jesus to break down barriers and build a our content or about southern Africa. What, we asked ourselves, would issues facing the new humanity rooted in Jesus when it seems pret- Mennonite Church it be like to move back home and integrate our- ty clear that drawing boundaries along ethnic USA. Please keep selves in a local community in the same way that your letters brief— Mennonite and institutional lines is in vogue. one or two para- we had immersed ourselves in cross-cultural set- —Michael Danner, Metamora, Ill. graphs—and about tings? What if we served on local school boards, one subject only. We reserve the right to sent our kids to the local school? What if we Appreciation for preseminary pastors edit for length and looked for the face of God in all the people in our clarity. Publication is The Jan. 20 editorial (“Seminaries as Seedbeds”) also subject to space new, adopted community? caught my attention. It reminds us of the major limitations. Send to As a graduate of a Mennonite high school, I am Letters@TheMenno- shift in the calling and equipping of our pastoral nite.org or mail to aware of the benefits of a Christian education. leadership. Although I enthusiastically support Readers Say, The While I have at times lamented the shortcomings Mennonite, 1700 S. these changes, I wish to express my appreciation Main St., Goshen, IN of a small, rural public school system and the to the pastors who served us in the preseminary 46526-4794. Please messiness of local politics, I have no regrets about include your name years. For the most part they were called out of and address.