AN OVERVIEW OF THE PLAIN PEOPLE by Ernest Eby | Updated January 2019 | [email protected] Many people looking for a church with more New Testament beliefs and values [hereafter referred to as “seekers”] are puzzled by all the different groups of Plain People and the differences between them. It is even puzzling for many people who grew up in an Anabaptist community. This document gives a brief introduction to the various constituencies of conservative Mennonites with Swiss/German ancestry. At the end I give a brief introduction to other groups of Plain people. The pictures below are typical of the “rank and file” in each constituency. I define constituency as a group of churches who share pulpits and who might also work together on joint publications, education, ministries, etc. Each constituency is comprised of various Conferences and Fellowships that have similar non- conformity standards and a similar ecclesiastical worldview. (“Non-conformity,” among the plain people, refers to life-style standards that set them apart from surrounding culture.) Youth who stay with the plain people often marry within their own constituency. At the edges of each constituency are congregations and individuals who have more in common with the constituency next to them, than what they do with the constituency that they are formally associated with. Conferences are a group of congregations that function as one church. Fellowships are a group of congregations who make themselves accountable to each other. In the more-conservative constituencies, being part of a Conference or Fellowship is considered quite important. In the less-conservative constituencies, there are many independent congregations who do not affiliate with a particular Conference or Fellowship. Seekers end up in all the different conservative Anabaptist constituencies mentioned below. How strict or lenient a church is does not seem to affect the number of seekers who join a typical Mennonite church. Those congregations who are most open to making people from outside of their social circle a part of their social circle typically have a higher percentage of folks from non-Anabaptist background. However, in established churches with a high percentage of ethnic Anabaptists, the percentage of folks from non-Anabaptist background is almost always low, even if the church is slightly more welcoming than others in their constituency. Page 1 Published by www.churchplantersforum.org Ethnic Anabaptist churches have many cultural practices or values that make perfect sense to them because it is all they’ve ever known. But some traditional practices and values make very little sense to newcomers. Because of this, many seekers become confused or uncomfortable with the cultural expectations of the Plain church they attend, and find it difficult to embrace the “jagged lines” that are made in relation to separation from the world. Many leave after a period of time when they become aware of the jagged lines and the inconsistencies. Some remain in the church but struggle with the church’s unwillingness to address the incongruities. “Blind spots” are called that for a reason. All of us tend to be blind to things we have grown up with or come to embrace. Because of this, most plain people without realizing it are likely to give seekers an unrealistic picture of the church or worldview that they have come to embrace. The intent of this document is to give a brief overview of the conservative Anabaptist landscape, so that a seeker can make a more informed decision about a constituency they might wish to attend or join. Hopefully this will contribute to less disillusionment, at least for some. The following thoughts are gleaned from observations, hearing the hearts of “seekers” over the years, and consulting with folks all across the plain spectrum. Ethnic Anabaptists and those who have adopted a particular Anabaptist culture may at times cringe at the way this article describes their constituency. That is understandable. This is written from the perspective of those looking in. It is not written by “salesmen” from each of the constituencies, so please read this from that perspective. Also, realize that what is written as a general description might not apply to a particular conference or fellowship or even to a sizeable minority within a group or congregation. Someday more could be written about the contributions that each of these constituencies are making to the Kingdom of God. More cultural comparisons could be made concerning dating practices, wedding practices, youth activities, view of education, etc. But that will need to be for another time. If you want a more thorough overview of the conservative Mennonite groups 25 years ago, this book by Stephen Scott is a helpful resource. I will mostly be using his categories as I describe the various Mennonite constituencies. They are, Old Orders, Ultra-conservatives, Intermediate-conservatives, Moderate-conservatives, Progressive (Fundamental) Conservatives, and Theological-conservatives. Page 2 Published by www.churchplantersforum.org OLD ORDER AND CONSERVATIVE MENNONITES Old Order Mennonites Old Order Mennonites keep the old worship patterns, old style meetinghouses, older Mennonite theology and orthopraxy, etc. Three fourths of Old Order Mennonites drive horse and buggies and have services in German, the rest drive black cars and have services in English. Old Order Mennonites have continued on with a flavor of Anabaptist theology that resembles that of the 1700’s and early 1800’s when Anabaptists were known as the “quiet in the land”. This ‘quietness’ is mostly the result of pietistic influence that had permeated many Anabaptist communities centuries ago. Many Old Orders rarely vocalize their faith or spiritual experience even though many are deeply spiritual people. They hope their lives will show people a better way to live. Many see the “Great Commission” as being fulfilled in the book of Acts. Old Order Mennonites gather in meeting houses for worship as opposed to Old Order Amish who meet in homes or other residential buildings. This link will explain some of the other differences between Old Order Mennonites and Old Order Amish. http://amishamerica.com/whats-the-difference-between-amish-and-mennonites/ Page 3 Published by www.churchplantersforum.org Page 4 Published by www.churchplantersforum.org Ultra-Conservative Mennonites (This constituency grew by 98% between 1996 and 2016.) This designation includes conferences and fellowships such as: Appalachian Mountain Church (AMC) Nationwide Fellowship Churches Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite (NFC) Church (EPMC) Ohio Wisler Mennonite (OW) Cons. Mennonite Churches of Ontario Washington Co. MD and Franklin Co. (CMCO) PA Mennonite Conference (WF) Cons. Mennonite Churches of York and Adams Counties, PA (YA) Youth Bible Schools: Numidia Bible School (PA), Ashland Bible School (PA), and Messiah Bible School (OH). Ultra-conservatives could perhaps be thought of as "the new Old Orders." Old Orders have historically been the constituency that populated most of the other conservative Anabaptist groups. In the last few decades, Ultra-conservatives have joined them in this. Ultra-conservative and Old Order Mennonites may limit certain technologies and educational opportunities for themselves while still making use of these things done by others. They are grateful to patronize Plain doctors from other constituencies, even if they don’t allow or encourage such professions in their own churches. If they face perplexing human problems in Page 5 Published by www.churchplantersforum.org their constituency for which they have little knowledge, they are grateful for the counseling resources of plain people in more-progressive constituencies. Often people in these constituencies are moved to help with the needs of people in cities or with needs in other parts of the world. They may wish to send food parcels, clothing bundles, or help with international disasters, etc. But the “permission hurdles” they would need to surmount in order to get something started in their own constituency might take many years. Sometimes the vision never gets off the ground because of too many “concerns.” Consequently, many Ultra-conservatives and Old Order Mennonites end up using or supporting the ministry efforts of more-progressive groups that have less bureaucracy. However, the discipline and intentionality with which these people live their lives does produce good character. Many less-conservative churches benefit from the good character that was developed in the homes, schools, and churches of Old Orders and Ultra-conservatives as individuals from these groups transition to less- conservative churches. Ultra-conservatives dress very uniformly and have quite rigid lifestyle standards. Many have tried to maintain Mennonite church polity and practices as they were in the “Old Mennonite Church” about 1920-1930. Most conservative Mennonites have been heavily influenced by revivalism, fundamentalism, and mission mindedness from the early 1900’s and the Ultra- conservatives are no exception. Ultra-conservatives are quite glad for these Protestant influences of the early 1900’s but are not open to new Protestant influences today. Any topics related to changing the polity of the church or altering the dress code of the church to be more in harmony with early Anabaptist thought or early church thought are simply not topics that can be discussed in these churches. In this constituency, leaders of the church carry a lot of weight as to what direction the church is headed and they typically monitor very closely such things as dress guidelines, recreational activities, types of vehicles, and religious affiliations with other groups. In some of these groups, the leaders alone make the applications from Scripture and simply dictate to the people what they should do if they want to be a part of this church. If you want to learn which way a church you are visiting may handle these decisions, you can ask them if they are a conference or a fellowship, and how decisions are made in the church.