Column

The only thing I love more than seeing Mennonites’ expressions when I tell them my last name is Prothro is offering my job title—identity director. It gets even better when I explain it and use the word “branding.”

At Mennonite Church USA Convention 2009 in Columbus, Ohio, June 30-July 5, someone used the word impossible to describe my job. I can see how he’d come to that conclusion, even if he weren’t referring primarily to the nature of identity formation as an ever-evolving process.

After all, we’ve got research from here to Timbuktu that tells us members are identifying more with the lifestyles and values of our rich, capitalist, consumer-driven, nationalistic and politically polarized culture than those of our Anabaptist tradition. We interpret and apply our Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective in varying ways, and continue to struggle with how—exactly—we agree and disagree in love. We face systemic issues of racism, sexism, ageism and protectionism and live in fear of the real possibility of significantly reduced donor dollars in an economic recession.

In short, we’re smack dab in the middle of an identity crisis.

If I were a person who solely gauged success by the measures of our society, I likely would agree with my good brother who called my job impossible. However, if I choose to trust that Jesus meant what he said, I must believe otherwise. As Christians and citizens of another kingdom, we need to resist the temptation of shaping our church according to the systems and definitions of success our society reflects.

Sure, efficiency and increased organizational partnerships are fine, but are other Americans catching glimpses of God’s kingdom because of the way we as individuals, congregations, conferences, agencies and a denomination interact with society? Maybe. But I can’t help wonder whether the glimpses they see are enough to convince them we’re any different from their perception of Christians as judgmental hypocrites who are against homosexuality.*

In The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Leslie Newbigin reminds us that the moment we decide to follow Jesus and breathe in God’s Spirit, our definition of what is plausible must change. As earthly, literate creatures, we struggle with reconciling anything that can’t be proven with hard-and-fast data or demonstrated on paper. We struggle to differentiate ourselves from society because owning our new definition of what is plausible makes us look foolish to the doctors, lawyers, business people and reporters who live down the street.

But if we tend our identity as a people and church sent by God, we find courage and strength. Ours is a tradition of believers who understand Christianity as more than a moment of salvation—but as a lifetime of continuously choosing to throw out the values of society to follow Jesus and join God’s work.

These are the people with whom I identify. Together we identify ourselves as Mennonites, specifically “Mennonite Church USA.” At Columbus, almost 8,000 of us were together, deepening our commitment to Christ and each other. I think conventions are important for this very reason. Yet I can’t help but wonder whether we deepened our commitment to our communities beyond the Mennonite organizational chart or family tree.

I hope so, because there’s a whole heap of suffering out there. The longer we gaze at our navels and focus our energy inward, the longer others go without sensing God’s movement around them and the farther we get from pursuing our mission as being sent to and for the world.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that I am finishing my work as identity director to complete my master’s degree, beginning in August. Even though the time has come for me to move on—for now—it’s important to note that the church still needs someone to tend our identity and challenge us to continually seek new ways of finding and joining God’s work so that others may experience Jesus’ healing and hope.

Is it an impossible job? I don’t think so. It may be difficult, but with the power of the Holy Spirit and the application of the right communication strategies, it’s definitely possible.