Mennonite Weekly Review

MOUNDRIDGE, Kan. — It is no coincidence that Eden Mennonite Church is using Jesus Matters as the basis for a sermon and Sunday school series this summer.

From left, Brent Knight, Ryan and Michelle Durst and Bobbie Schrag discuss Jesus Matters during Sunday school at Eden Mennonite Church. — Photo by Laurie Oswald Robinson

The book — written by Anabaptist scholars with young adults and published by Herald Press in 2009 — has become a holy appointment for a congregation seeking to make some changes, said pastoral team members who helped to launch the series June 27.

The book invites readers to examine their perceptions of Jesus and to deepen their understanding of his impact on their lives. So it dovetails with Eden’s “Voyage for Vision: Where We’ve Come From and Where We’re Going,” begun in March and facilitated by Nate Regier of Next Element Consulting.

Eden honors the Anabaptist focus of keeping Christ at the center of its worship and mission. And so the book can become a bridge between Jesus who shaped history and Jesus who shapes Eden’s ongoing journey, said lead pastor David Stevens.

“Jesus Matters helps us ask those centralizing questions, such as, Is Jesus truly Savior and Lord and an example to follow in life?” Stevens said. “Are we letting Jesus challenge our tendency to ossify into institutionalizing church rather than taking more radical risks?

“The book is challenging me as a pastoral leader to let Jesus be the sieve through which I pour my day and shape my priorities. … When I refocus like this, Jesus is always a surprise.”

Exploring Jesus’ identity

During Sunday school after worship, other Eden members also experienced surprises as they freshly examined Jesus. They discussed questions raised by the sermon given by associate pastor Gail Graber, who focused on Chapter Two, “Who Is Jesus?” The chapter was written by John Driver, a lifelong mission worker, theologian and author, with his grandson, Daniel Driver, a student at Goshen (Ind.) College. It examines Jesus’ multifaceted identity — Jesus, Savior, Messiah, Son of God and Lord.

“We wonder if [Jesus] was lunatic, liar, hero or nice guy,” Graber said in her sermon. “But heroes come and go. Lunatics and liars are a dime a dozen. There are nice people all over the place… . Maybe it is too hard to understand Lord and Savior and what that means for our lives. So we continue to wrestle with the temptation to mold him into what is comfortable for us and with the question, ‘Who was Jesus?’ ”

The cost of following