The last few days I have been reading The Secret of the Strength by Peter Hoover.  I've been moved by this compilation of quotes from original Anabaptist sources and the challenge to be fully yielded to God. I was introduced to this on Sunday in my congregation when an Amish couple came as guests of our church and shared their story of renewal.   Here is the quote that was shared on Sunday:

This couple came to our church because they helped start a gathering of churches seeking renewal in Northern Indiana.  If you get a chance, I invite you to follow the links to read the book for free, to watch message from the Amish couple, and to learn more about what God is doing in the Northern Indiana community.
-John M Troyer 

In the book of Revelation, John is given a vision of what God is doing in the world. It begins with warnings and affirmations for seven churches. How do our churches in North America measure up today? Here are the 19 characteristics of the churches of Jesus Christ

1. Deeds, hard work, perseverance, endurance of hardship
2. An intolerance for wicked people, testing leaders and not being afraid to name them as false teachers.
3. An openness to poverty and suffering.
4. Faithfulness in the face of blasphemy.
5. Loyalty in a satanic, occultic place
6. Not tolerating leaders who teach that sexual sin is okay and participate in idolatry
7. Constant improvement.
8. Trusting God to judge and to work at identifying the intentions of the heart in those in leadership.
9. Keeping the simple teachings and rejecting those who try to teach "deeper truths" (which are really of satanic origin)
10. Difficult obedience which results in great authority.
11. Holding on to what was given.
12. Maintaining its first love for God.
13. Hating the leaders who lord over others, and loving those who serve.
14. Strengthening the inner life.
15. Repenting of wrong, strengthening what is good.
16. Being useful
17. Not counting on acquired wealth.
18. Opening the door for the living presence of Christ
19. Listening to the voice of the Spirit

These 19 things are a powerful reminder of how self-serving we have become in North America. May God help us repent and receive new life.
-John M Troyer

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When I talk about the division of a denominational institution, it's easy to jump immediately to the assumption that I am dividing the church. No denomination is the church. The big C Church is the people that are gathered around a real relationship with the Holy Spirit. When the institution becomes primary, that's when things begin to break down.

Institutions can be helpful. They're like buses, cars, ships and planes. When people hear God asking them to move together in some effort, it makes sense to get organized. But the church is never the mode of transport, it is the people inside. When our allegiance shifts, we shame each other into doing what we want. We lie and hedge the truth for our ends. We shame into silence with an attack others' character if they speak up. We work as silent allies so that we can rescue those within who we believe are victims of bad theology or ethical understanding.  We want the bus to be full even if the people on board don't like the destination.  So we make it hard for them to exit or we leave them stranded alone, isolated from others they might join.

Some are saying that the answer for Mennonite Church USA is to shift to a congregational polity. This sentiment is supposedly rooted in the idea of giving each other the freedom to follow Christ in whatever way it makes sense for each congregation. If that were truly the motive, then this sentiment would not be coupled with a fierce emphasis on loyalty and unity as a denomination. A true polity of congregationalism would do its best to help those with differing points of view join together and go their separate way. It would help them exit gracefully at the next bus stop and help them find a new ride. Congregations will bless same-sex marriages and ordain pastors in same-sex relationships. But when they do, and when they begin to determine the direction of our institutional bus, it's time for many of us to get off that bus. The attempts by those with the unity perspective to shame leaders for leaving is a sinful and diabolical attempt at manipulation and control. It is inconsistent with the congregational polity they claim to hold. It needs to stop and should be named and exposed for the abusive and ungodly use of power that it is. It is the spirit of Constantine, not the Holy Spirit.

I love Mennonite Church USA. But I love the people in it even more. It's time to help us separate well.
-John M Troyer

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I've spoken before of my growing up years in the Beachy Amish church. When I thought about leaving and going to a place that was less restrictive and conservative, there were a lot of fears.  I never was baptized there, but the messages seemed to come that I would experience losses if I left. Some were directly named for me by my father, but others were more subtly communicated through stories. The strongest stories were the stories that communicated how messed up life became for people who did leave, how far away they fell from God, and how their lives were filled with all kinds of sin. It shaped for my young mind an understanding of reality that somehow all these things would also happen to me. As I got older, my fear was less that those things would happen to me, but that I would become one of those stories that were told. I was surprised to eventually discover that there were many who had left and built lives that were God-centered and full.

Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, gave a TED talk in which she "tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding." This single story idea, is powerful because it misses no one. It is the very beginning of the scapegoating process, a process that flattens and loses the nuances of those who disagree with us.  This metaphor is an excellent example of what I saw in my growing up years. I learned a particular view, not because it was in some curriculum, but because all the stories together shaped a perspective. 

Activists, both within and outside the church, use this method. We wait for one person to push out ahead and name a direction we don't like, then like the game of Whack-a-Mole, we use the story hammer to polarize, freeze and isolate that person. We cast aspersions, cluck or tongues, and fully engage in the slanderous act of misrepresenting their perspective and kindness.  Ron Sider recently wrote a blog post for Mennonite World Review in which he stakes out a perspective that will "uphold biblical teaching about homosexuality — and be places to love and listen rather than shame or exclude." Almost immediately, the responses came in which activists conveyed their disbelief that their single story about a conservative perspective on marriage might be untrue. As a result, a man who has devoted his life to justice and peace with advocacy for the poor and marginalized has these young activists immediately suspicious of his motives and the reality of his love. They cling tightly to their single story.

When a couple is going through marital difficulty, many times they feel the marriage has ended long before anyone either party takes any formal steps to say it is over.  What I have already seen is that this can turn into a waiting game, waiting for the other person to make a public misstep so they can rally the opinion of their family and friends onto their side.  It is the fight to come out of the divorce with a single story and to end up with the most assets and receive child custody. It is about blame and retribution.

In Mennonite Church USA, we are experiencing the same thing. We are not one church, and we weren't even when two denominations merged together fifteen years ago. What we are seeing now is an attempt to shape a single story, that staying one denomination is the one most holy good that we can agree must be pursued, and that leaving this denomination (or being divisive or causing a split) is the one unpardonable sin that must be condemned.  All this is given in the name of diversity. (The irony in taking this position is quite palpable.)  I have even had people name our institutional connection as a denomination as a commitment that is on par with a couples commitment to stay together until death would part them from each other. Frankly, that is not what an institutional commitment means, and it's disingenuous to try to make it that.  There is no shame in choosing to separate as a denomination, and our testimony is helped when we help each other do that well rather than pretending we need to continue clinging to each other to the bitter end.  Our merger has resulted in a fifteen year War of the Roses and a truce should be declared in that war. It's time to let it end.

As a result, leaders are paralyzed in taking action that really is for the good of the whole. The whole denomination needs leaders who are willing to come together (maybe that will help mitigate the effects of whack-a-mole) and say that we are two bodies and we need to do our best to help each body move forward in as healthy a way as possible.  Let's make our testimony about ending well, not about making an idolatrous creed around institutional unity at all costs.
-John M Troyer

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Today at church, we experienced the joy of baptism and taking in new members. In the Anabaptist tradition, membership and baptism are tied together. We believe that our life with God is not lived out in isolation, but in communion with a local body. In North America, the Christian life is often seen as a "me and God" kind of thing, but it's so much more than that. We are called the body of Christ for a reason, because we belong together.

I discovered the meaning of this in a new way when our children came into our lives. Both of them were adopted when they were ten months old and the transition was not always easy for them and for us. As one sleepless night followed another, we were stretched to the limits of what our nerves and bodies could handle. Here was a helpless little bundle who had been transported from another country to another with whole new sights, sounds and smells. While compassion and love carried us a long way, this experience pushed us deeper into exploring the dark and hidden places that tested the limits of our character. 

Being kind is a lot easier when you have opportunities to retreat and renew, but the relentless need of a child helps us learn the new depths of our kindness. This is also true of marriage, friendship and life together in a local church. Sometimes the source of our frustration is not an innocent child, but someone we are quite sure should know better than to treat us the way they do. Our depth and character are revealed in those times. 

A tree is only strong when the wind tries to blow it over. A tree with plenty of shallow water and little wind will never survive the testing of draught and high wind when they finally come. We are made holy when we draw deeper into our unity in Christ during those times of challenge and difficulty.

If you're going through a tough relationship, I invite you use that opportunity to deepen the roots. We often look for the easy road, but true joy and beauty come through the challenging things.
-John M Troyer

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I've been reflecting on the meaning of the church. And by church, I don't mean a building or institution, but any place and time where people live in relationship because of a shared unity in Jesus Christ. By definition, the church is focused on Jesus, the risen and living Lord that lives in our hearts and lives today. We trust Jesus and what He says and does. He speaks to us today through the Holy Spirit. Our work is to discover what He is saying and live into that.

In the church, relationships matter. As those united with Christ, we put less on our daily agenda so we can slow down and truly see the people around us. Making that space in my own life has been a treasure as God has placed people in front of me. For some, it's just a smile and other times it's extended conversations with strangers who become friends. Church happens, it is not a place. You never know where you will discover it, but it can only be found in real relationship with others who are united with Christ.

In the church, the Bible serves as the introduction to the living Christ, it does not replace the living Christ. We let the written word shape us into being united with the Living Word. The one who is united with Christ will abandon sin, love sinners, and bring healing. The world will hate those who truly embrace this path.

We have authority in the church only when we actually are united with Christ. Our authority does not come from a title, credentials or official membership. If I spend no time with God each day, I really do have nothing to offer to those around me that is of lasting value. The value of leadership is in knowing the game plan the Coach is putting into place. If I can't hear the Coach, I'm not helping with the game plan.

In the church, our lives are characterized by respect and mutual affection. If an institution loses the ability to cultivate that, it is no longer serving the church. We point each other toward Christ, not toward policy and rules. We say the hard things, we separate from those who are false teachers because we have come to love the One who confronted evil and embraced what is good. We reject the ugliness of humanity's false unity for the freedom and beauty of the Holy Spirit's leadership.

Our lives are about living in loving agreement, not about imposing conformity on others. The value of the relationship is only as good as how we help each other become united in Christ. We equip and build up each other to serve in unity with Christ and not as conformists to an institution.

Here are some questions to consider as you think about your life:

• Is the reality of the Holy Spirit's voice within you becoming clearer or is it becoming more difficult to hear? 
• Is your heart being filled with the fruits of love, joy and peace? 
• Are you tired and worn out and feeling more distant from God? 
• Are you being honest about your unity with Christ or are you more focused on what you think you should be and what you think you should do? 
• Is most of what you do characterized by a sense of obligation and guilt with your heart at a very different place? 
• As you let go of obligations, are you losing yourself in God's love or pursuing a path of self-interest?
  

These questions can serve as a spiritual checkup, and they are only as valuable as your honesty in answering them. I challenge you to find a friend or two who walks with Jesus, and give them your answers to these questions. Eat a meal as a family and tell them how it's really going. I guarantee that in the conversations you will find church.  It's good living.
-John M Troyer

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One of my stark memories as a young boy was when my mother passed out in the kitchen while making breakfast. She's had health difficulties her entire life, and this was another episode of many. This time was different, as my parents made a choice that was unpopular in the 70's. They decided to change our food and lifestyle to healthier, more organic choices. They decided to add more vitamins and exercise to their diet. As an eight year old, it felt like the end of the world to me.

Ice cream for dessert every night. Gone. Cookies in the freezer. Gone. Tasty Amish-Mennonite cooking with flavor and zest? Replaced by flavorless, no-salt, whole wheat noodles with tuna. You have to remember, if you did something like this in the 70's, there wasn't a lot of help available to make this change toward healthier foods and still maintain things that the palate enjoys. 

On the other hand, it was good for me. I learned about life and differences, the challenge of standing alone (and at times it felt like our family was very alone) for one's convictions. But one particular lesson stood out. The standard response in the medical field is to fight fire with fire, poison with poison. Many of the effective treatments we have are about killing disease by taking some sort of drug. An antibiotic is not a biotic. Chemotherapy or radiation is so challenging because it is about destroying the cancer and hoping you survive the chemo or radiation. In the alternative health world, the theory is to focus on building strength. I learned the importance of fortifying your body against disease so that it can withstand all the bad stuff it encounters. 

In recent years, we've seen how evil (in this case, a staph infection) evolves to overcome our antibiotics. We get superbugs. The latest to hit the news is the Ebola virus, and we wonder what will happen to us in the United States if it breaks out here. 

In many ways, we also see this with evil. ISIS is a threat that is in the news, and evil seems to be evolving. Technology increases to the power and reach of evil, whether it is through the technology that is used to kill or to create fear and propaganda. And I would suggest that is the nature of our world, both in anthropology and biology. A mentality of fighting evil with superior, crushing retaliation creates a mutation process that increases the strength and presence of evil.  

That increasing strength is ultimately an illusion. Jesus went around healing people and casting out demons. His power was one of building strength, not superior, crushing retaliation. When attacked for what he did, he asked, "“Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive." Matthew 12:25-26 (NLT) 


In this passage, he exposes the fallacy. Using the crushing force of retaliation is repaying evil for evil. When evil is what returned, evil is not erased. It will seem it is gaining strength. But humanity also gets closer to seeing the power of the Gospel. It is most clearly seen in the midst of the greatest evil. The power of non-retaliatory strength is what ultimately changes the world. It is at the heart of the message of Jesus. It is the power of the cross, it is the reality of the resurrection. We need not fear death and can embrace life. 
-John M Troyer

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I have been regularly blogging for about six weeks. I've thought about doing this for years, and for an even longer period of time i thought about writing a book. Two years ago, my wife Sheila and I received a Lily Sabbatical Grant and part of that sabbatical was six weeks of rest and study as a family in Costa Rica.  

We connected with two churches while we were there. The first was in neighboring Jacó, a town full of tourists and expats. This was a church led by missionaries from the United States, and services were bilingual. This was our Sunday morning place of worship since I was the only one in the family that spoke any Spanish.

On Tuesday evenings, Sheila and I went to Parrita, the farming village to our south. We worshiped with a local charismatic congregation at their weekly prayer meeting. In spite of the language challenges, we were blessed by their hospitality and love for the Lord. One evening the pastor invited us to come to the front for prayer. The entire congregation moved forward, and he began to lay hands on individuals and they would fall to the floor.

He came over to me.  At that time I had been struggling with a sense of call to do some writing in the last part of the sabbatical.  I even laid out a table of contents. As he came to me, he told me that God revealed to him that I was asking about doing something new. The strong word he received was espera which means to wait, to hope, to expect. As he prayed for me, I received an overwhelming sense of God's presence and joy in my spirit that moved into the whole of my being. I remember thinking I had a choice to receive it and fall to the floor or to continue standing on my own strength. I chose to relax into that presence and I laid on the cold, hard tile floor for about fifteen minutes. God simply ministered to me through the Holy Spirit, not with words, but with His beautiful presence.  In some charismatic circles, this is called being slain in the Spirit. I prefer to call it resting in the Spirit.

Since then, I've waited. When I went to the Anabaptist Renewal Conference this summer, i felt God stirring something within me, giving me the word "Go". And that is how this blog started. I get up each morning and I pray and read the Bible, social media, and news articles. I don't decide ahead of time what to write, i just listen and try to respond to the nudgings of the Spirit. 

But I also believe that the word I've been given was not just for me. I believe there are others out there who God has been shaping and preparing for many years, and He is also telling you it's time to speak.  Within the larger Anabaptist community, the voices for a vibrant witness now need to come forward, to let go of the fears of ridicule.  You have been prepared and God will guide you.  Perhaps you want to contribute to this blog. Maybe you will start your own blog, write a book, or just be more forthright on social media. Whatever way you live out that call, I believe now is the time to speak. Speak about the things you know. If you don't know, educate yourself. Speak about your experiences, your convictions and your hopes and dreams. Spend time being united with Christ so that your words are a reflection of His presence with you. Live in the humility of God's provision and allow His boldness to shape your words.
-John M Troyer