MC USA Executive Director Glen Guyton reflects on the tensions, opportunities and faithful discernment at the heart of Reimagining Mennonite Church USA.
Glen Guyton is the executive director of MC USA. He is the first person of color to serve in the role. Glen has almost 30 years of leadership experience in the denomination. Guyton joined the MC USA Executive Board staff in 2009 as the director of Intercultural Relations, and for the next serval years, held various staff roles until becoming executive director. An officer in the United States Air Force when he first joined the church, Guyton credits several Mennonite leaders for teaching him what it means to be an Anabaptist Christian, in particular Bishop L.W. Francisco III, oversight pastor at C3 Hampton, and Titus Peachy, formerly of Mennonite Central Committee, which led him to leave the military and commit to nonviolence. Guyton holds a bachelor’s degree in management from the United States Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in education from Regent University. He is the author of several books including, “Navigating Microaggressions at Work: A Guide to Understanding and Avoiding Microaggressions in the Workplace,” and “Reawakened, Activate Your Congregation to Spark Lasting Change,” which explores eight keys to developing the abilities of congregations to bring healing and hope to their communities. Guyton is also a professional member of the National Speakers Association.
This blog is part of a special series on “Reimagining Menonite Church USA,” an initiative to “reimagine a framework that maintains the interconnectedness between the church’s various entities and better responds to current and future needs.”
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Focusing on what not to change will be one of the most empowering and challenging aspects of Mennonite Church USA’s reimagining process. The denomination that we assembled in 2001 — and the world that envelops it — is not the same. Yet, at the same time, we as Mennonites draw a tethered line to our roots, which emerged some 500 years ago in Zurich, Switzerland. Since 1525, many aspects of Mennonite identity and practice have evolved, but others have remained unchanged. We may be more ethnically and culturally diverse, but Christ remains at our center as does the message of peace.
But, as we look ahead to the next 10 to 20 years of MC USA, we need to ask, “What’s next?”
The task group, the Executive Board and, eventually, our delegates will need to consider where our roots should be deepened and which branches should be pruned – ultimately, laying out how this will happen.
Change can be scary, so we tend to stick with the formulas and recipes that got us from point A to point B. Typically, that does not bode well for the future of successful organizations, as the social, cultural, and organizational landscapes around them are constantly changing. On the flip side, visionary leaders sometimes want to uproot everything, but that often causes instability and clouding of purpose. So, how do thoughtful, long-lasting institutions endure?
According to the book “Thinking about the Future,” there are three factors instrumental in the longevity of organizations:
- Long-lived [organizations] are sensitive to their environments, with the ability to learn and adapt.
- They are cohesive, with a strong sense of identity.
- They are tolerant, particularly of activities on the margins.
What lessons can we glean from this about the possible pathways forward for our denomination?
- Sensitivity and Adaptability — “Learning from the times.”
To remain faithful, we must continue to listen to God, to one another and to the world around us. The early church modeled this responsiveness when it discerned how to include Gentiles without losing its foundation in Christ. Acts 15 shows a community wrestling faithfully with change, concluding, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28). Sensitivity, guided by the Spirit, allows us to discern what is essential and what must evolve. - Cohesion and Identity — “Rooted in Christ.”
Our unity is not uniformity; it is being bound together in Christ. Colossians 2:6–7 reminds us, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught.” As we adapt structures and practices, we are grounded and nourished by our rootedness in Jesus. Without that center, our branches wither. But, together, we rise in hope. - Tolerance and Margin — “Making space for grace.”
Healthy systems allow for difference and dialogue. Romans 14:1–4 calls us to welcome those “whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.” Our endurance as a denomination will depend on our ability to hold tension with love — to make space for those who challenge or stretch us. Diversity at the margins often keeps the center vibrant.
As we move forward, perhaps our question is not what must change, but what must endure for the Spirit to keep breathing life into our shared witness. We trust that God, who began this good work among us, will carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6).
Share Your Hopes & Ideas
Join the Reimagining MC USA process by offering your input on our churchwide survey. Share your hopes and ideas for how our denomination can faithfully live out its calling,