Aug. 20, 2007 issue
Subversive element
Anabaptist ideas sread in Austrailia, creating a new concept of church
By Kenton Glick EMM and MMNPage:
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SUTHERLAND, Australia — Traditional Christian churches often are a small and marginalized element within Australian society.
Mary and Mark Hurst, who serve with Mennonite Mission Network and Eastern Mennonite Missions, have been building an Anabaptist network in Australia for more than 20 years.
But Mary and Mark Hurst, who work with Mennonite Mission Network and Eastern Mennonite Missions, say a “subversive element” is moving through Australian churches. New ideas are spreading across Australian colleges and seminaries.
The Hursts believe this movement has a decidedly Anabaptist flavor. They say it is causing church leaders across Australia to question the usual close connections between faith, Western culture and the world’s power structures.
What the Hursts have done for 20 years in Australia is very different from usual mission work.
“They told us they didn’t need another denomination,” Mary Hurst said. “They had too many already.”
So instead of planting Mennonite congregations, the Hursts articulate Anabaptism through books, seminars and personal contact.
They have helped establish a network of people from a diverse geographic area who embrace Anabaptist beliefs. So far, this approach has thrived.
“We get invited to speak at colleges and seminaries across the country,” Hurst said. “We sell a lot of books and talk with a lot of people.”
The Anabaptist Association of Australia and New Zealand formed in 1995 to keep these networking relationships alive.
At the heart of what Anabaptist Association teaches is not just a liberal social gospel or a peace and justice gospel — although these elements are important. The heart of the group’s conviction is that there is a significant difference between what world Christendom has practiced through the ages and the teachings of Jesus.
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