“We stand by the Confession of Faith” is a phrase I’ve heard from conference leaders, especially around discussion of Article #11 on Marriage, Singleness and Family.
But what about Article #13 on Love and Nonresistance? Is the Conference standing on this article too? At the Pastors Credentialing Orientation I attended, new pastors openly challenged that commitment to nonresistance, saying they didn’t believe it.
And then there’s Article #15 that says, “Good stewardship…rejects the unjust exploitation of the earth.” Are we standing by the Confession of Faith if we’re silent on global warming and climate change? Maybe that’s a topic for our next Study Conference.
I think it’s obvious we are interpreting the Confession of Faith…these articles are essential, these articles are optional. Maybe it would be more accurate to say, “We stand by parts of the Confession of Faith.”
The MB Confession of Faith states, “The Bible is our written authority. As Anabaptists, we believe that authoritative interpretation of the Bible is the result of corporate reflection under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” As we corporately reflect, we are bound to have different emphases.
In my congregation, some want to include GLBTQ people, others say it’s a sin. Some would never use violence in self-defence, others have guns. Some work for environmental justice, others don’t give it a thought.
We all love Jesus and we’re trying to follow him. We engage in sometimes very pointed discussions about these issues. We would like to have unity, but unity is a long time in coming.
For a long time our congregation rejected women in leadership. Now we have two female pastors. The congregation could have split apart over this issue in the 1970s but we kept discussing and worshipping together.
If we can do this at a congregational level, I am confident that we can do this at a conference level. Diversity does not have to lead to division if we have love for one another.
So I am praying for the Holy Spirit to give the MB Conference an extra measure of love, to sustain us on the long march towards unity. And I am praying for wisdom for our leaders, because they are rightly trying to foster unity. And that’s a hard job in the MB church, sort of like herding cats.
I think that unity will come not through standing (or falling) on the Confession of Faith. Unity comes as a gift of the Spirit: “Beloved, let us love one another."
You could get unity on a certain topic next year by expelling everyone who disagrees with Article #11, but what is the point? Unity without love is nothing.
Love, Carol Penner, Lendrum MB Church, Edmonton, Alberta