Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.—Romans 12:2–3 TNIV
It’s a daring thing to say that we know God’s will. Yet the delegates at the June 30-July 5 convention in Kansas City, Mo., engaged in a bold experiment, pursuing a new way to discern God’s will together. Jane Hoober Peifer served as a discernment guide to incorporate rhythms of prayer and table group engagement with the more familiar parliamentary procedures. Her work signaled the church’s desire that the delegate body serve as a spiritually discerning community rather than a forum to debate political ideas. Her work continued a venture in group discernment we’ve pursued over the past several years in congregations, area conferences and in the Constituency Leaders Council.
Just a week before the convention, I read Ruth Haley Barton’s recent book, Life Together in Christ: Experiencing Transformation in Community.
It’s an insightful exposition of Luke 24, the Scripture passage we studied at the convention. Barton asserts that just as everything changed for the downcast disciples when Jesus showed up in the guise of a stranger on the road to Emmaus, a life-transforming relationship with Jesus is what creates a true Christian community: “Christian community is not and never can be about us.” She cites Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who avowed that the “wish dream” we often carry in our minds about human community is easily shattered by the disillusionment of actually living with others.
Bonhoeffer said: “Thus the very hour of disillusionment with our brother [or sister] becomes incomparably salutary, because it so thoroughly teaches me that neither of us can live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and Deed which really binds us together. … When the morning mists of dreams vanish, then dawns the bright day of Christian fellowship.”
Debating difficult issues with fellow believers can readily shatter our “wish dreams” for the broad community we call Mennonite Church USA. When we argue opposite viewpoints on the strength of conscience, it is nearly impossible to find group consensus. I don’t know how many people changed their mind or their vote on any particular issue as a result of being at a delegate table in Kansas City, yet I sense that for some who spoke to me, their commitment to each other and the church grew stronger.
That’s likely because they were seated at round tables, so they could look into each other’s faces as they spoke. Many used a “talking piece” during their times of sharing, helping people attend to one another with love and respect by listening as others shared, often from the heart.
And even though many met each other for the first time at the table, they testified that they experienced moments of authentic community. A number of people told me they’d experienced holy moments in their table interactions, which included time of deep sharing of different viewpoints.
They sensed the presence of Jesus in the midst of their diversity. Together they caught a glimpse of God’s will for our church’s witness.
My hope for the church grew stronger during the recent convention, not only because of the steps toward communal discernment at the delegate assembly but because of the many other ways I witnessed God at work throughout the week. People engaged in corporate worship and a plethora of other activities that helped strengthen our communal life, focusing on what we can do better together than any of us could on our own.
In spite of the tensions that threaten to divide us, God is at work to draw us together as communities of grace, joy and peace, so that God’s healing and hope can flow through us to the world.
Ervin Stutzman is executive director of Mennonite Church USA.
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