Mennonite Weekly Review

On my desk is God’s People Now: Face to Face with Mennonite Church Canada by Robert J. Suderman, published by Herald Press, 2007, 128 pages, $12.99.

Lapp

When Robert “Jack” Suderman became general secretary of Mennonite Church Canada, he decided to make a special effort to connect with the 230 member churches. In 2006 he devoted 71 days to visiting more than 200 churches “to hear what the churches were saying, to understand how they were doing, and to help them hear each other.”

This book summarizes Suderman’s findings and his theological reflections. The eight chapters describe the listening process, the challenges uncovered, the persistent struggle for unity amid diversity. These congregations speak in 13 languages in addition to English and German.

“I was more impressed, energized and encouraged by the visits than I was discouraged,” he writes. “Our church is an instrument of hope, committed to the vocation of bringing God’s healing to a challenging world.” 

Suderman begins with three generalizations: 1) “We are Mennonite. There is a fierce insistence on our Mennonite/Anabaptist identity”; 2) “We are a church. There is a strong desire to be the church together”; and 3) “We are Canadian. Our church is impacted and shaped by the broader culture. MC Canada is ministering to God’s reign in our country.”

Suderman discovered conspicuous issues. The first one he called demographic realities: the depopulation of rural areas, the aging of the population, movement to the cities. There is a chapter on the declining presence of young adults and another on the important role of seniors. Critical issues that generate controversy include rightly interpreting the Bible, who has the authority to make decisions on polity and practice, and the lightning-rod topic of homosexuality. There are debates over worship and music styles, how to nurture new leaders, the difficulty of finding volunteers for Sunday school teaching and committees. One interesting topic is whether the peace-church tradition is integral to the gospel or ethnic baggage.

Suderman discovered pain in congregations struggling to be missional. The critical task, he says, is to create and build trust. This requires “prayer for each other across the church.” We need frequent conversation and visits for building relationships, intentionality in congregational decisions and a willingness “to contribute our strengths to others, to be open to allowing others to help with our weaknesses.”

The chapter I liked best is titled “The Calling of the Church.” The opening sentence sets the pace: “Spiritual imagination is likely the most powerful yet underutilized resource of the Christian church.” Then Suderman exegetes the Letter to the Ephesians. If God’s strategy to restore the world is incarnational, that strategy gives “primacy to God’s peoplehood,” the living body of Christ. Being incarnational “means that there is no agenda which is not the agenda of the church… . No part of the created and social world is not targeted for restoration and reconciliation.”

While the focus is on MC Canada, MC USA congregations will discover they are more like their Canadian siblings than different. But this study also notes that Mennonites in Canada, as in the United States, are deeply affected by the distinct religious and political cultures in which each lives.

I wish Suderman would have given some attention to the history of MC Canada congregations. There must be significant differences between 200-year-old congregations, 50-year-old ones and 10-year-old ones. I would also be interested to know how the identities of the former Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada and the Conference of Mennonites in Canada have melded and what differences persist. I would like to know more about how Mennonite congregations in Canada relate to other Mennonite groups and to other parts of the Christian family.

Suderman’s reflections are a rich resource for a vital movement. This book ought to be read by pastors and church leaders on both sides of the 49th parallel.

John A. Lapp, of Akron, Pa., is a former executive director of Mennonite Central Committee.