Sharing what God has done for us

The Church Member Profile gives us an unflattering picture of ourselves.

This 2007 national survey shows that Mennonites are older and richer than the national average and we’re hesitant to share our faith stories with others. We have fewer children than we once did, fewer even than the national average.

To put it simply, in terms of increasing our numbers and the witness of Christ through Mennonite Church USA in the decades ahead, the future looks less than rosy.

But of course this isn’t the whole story.  As Mennonites, we have a wonderful story to tell about God’s faithfulness among us. It’s a story worth sharing with others.

All the more reason why professor of Biblical theology Ben Ollenburger’s sermon on testimony caught my attention at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary’s Pastors Week in Elkhart, Ind., in late January.

Ollenburger said to testify, or to bear witness is to connect our story and the biblical story with the stories of others. Quoting Emory University professor Tom Long, Ollenburger said that church should be a language school where we practice what to say and how to say it.

Put another way, we don’t know what we really believe until we can learn to share it out loud with others.

As he ended his sermon, Ollenburger practiced what he preached by giving testimony about how God had been present in his life and how healing and wholeness came to him through the community of Christ’s people.

The Psalmist said it this way: “Come and see … I will tell you what God has done for me” (Psalm 66). Can we do any less?

P.S. I’m told Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s mid-January gathering on embodying sexual wholeness in a broken world was equally challenging. Don’t miss these wonderful resource events from our seminaries.

Ron Byler is associate executive director of Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership.

A committee of about 30 representatives from across Mennonite Church USA gathered Jan. 24 to 27 in Columbus, Ohio, to discern a theme and Scripture passage for the Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009. The Scripture for Convention 2009 will be John 20:21-22, and the theme will be “Breathe and be filled.”

The passage reads: “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ”

The 2009 Convention will be June 30 to July 5 in Columbus, Ohio, and include gatherings for adults, youth, junior high youth and children as well as the biennial Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly. In addition, Executive Leadership is leading the process of planning a special pastors’ recognition day one day prior to the convention. The event will focus on a missional

theme, and keynote speakers will include Darrell Guder and Lois Barrett.

The most recent Mennonite Church USA Convention was July 2 to 6, 2007, in San José, Calif. Churchwide conventions are a ministry of Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, and all parts of Mennonite Church USA are invited to participate.

Executive Leadership encourages congregations to begin the process of discerning how they will participate in Convention 2009. Prayers especially are appreciated as volunteer planners and staff begin the process of preparing for Convention 2009. More information will be available as the convention approaches.