How did Mennonites get to the 21st Century?

CLASSICAL MENNONITES - SEPARATED SAINTS

It began with baptism.

The Anabaptist wing of the reformation of the 16th Century was remarkably diverse, including peasant revolutionaries, pacifists, mystics, vengeful end time visionaries, polygamists, communists and eventually Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites. The single notion linking these groups was that baptism of infants was profoundly misguided, and the only valid baptism was that of adults prepared to dedicate their lives to following Jesus Christ.

The more exotic strains of Anabaptism did not sustain themselves. Persecution was intense, millenarianism lost steam as the sun continued to rise day after day on the righteous and the unrighteous alike, charismatics failed to establish stable communities and the mystics faded into the background.  However, pacifistic and ethically oriented Mennonites and their cousins the Amish and Hutterites carried on, forming disciplined communities of believers, baptized as adults, who lived in accordance with the demanding precepts of Jesus Christ and conceived of themselves as  residing in the Kingdom of Christ, being sharply separated from all others belonging to the Kingdom of the World.

The Classical Mennonite Community was made up of practising

believers baptized as adults and separated from wider society 

THE GOLDEN AGE OF MENNONITE MODERNITY - SALT OF THE EARTH

The rapid social developments of 20th Century North America reverberated through Mennonite communities no less than other ethnic and religious groups. A fundamental shift occurred as more and more Mennonites engaged with those in broader society through education and the workplace. The insights and wisdom of modernity were frequently persuasive, and the social world of separated Mennonite communities seemed claustrophobic and even authoritarian. The genius and accomplishment of Mennonites among this generation lay in their effort to explore and embrace what they took to be the fundamental insights of their predecessors, and recalibrate those insights as they entered into broader society  (cf. The Anabaptist Vision and A Non-Mennonite's Perspective on what Mennonites were saying). They retained a commitment to believer's baptism, congregational expressions of faith, service and community and a gospel of peace. At the same time, they were able to manifest those commitments outside of the boundaries of exclusive Mennonite circles. Their roots were in the Mennonite congregation, but they flowered outside of it - in the world but not of it. This was the era in which the Mennonite Central Committee was birthed, multitudes of Mennonites moved out into the world in service of mission and development, Mennonite academics and leaders began to be recognized in broader society as pre-eminent spokespersons for ethics and theology of peace, and Mennonites made a place for themselves in almost every level of society, eventually including government and more recently law and even law enforcement. This generation perceived itself less and less as a community of saints separated from a world outside of the perfection of Christ, and more as a salt for the earth. In the world, and a benefit to it, but not of it.

Mennonites of Modernity: In the world, but not of it

CONTEMPORARY NORTH AMERICAN MENNONITES - NEITHER HERE NOR THERE

The most striking aspect of modern North American Mennonites (from the vantage point of Waterloo North Mennonite Church), is how little there is to distinguish them from the mainstream "enlightened" populace of contemporary Canadian society.  It is certainly not precisely accurate to describe this congregation as gathering of baptized believers. For one thing, it is already common parlance at Waterloo North Mennonite Church to refer to a segment of dedicated participants in congregational life as "adherents". In practice, this group is not limited to merely individuals who have been baptized as adults in another congregation, but have not yet got around to transferring membership to WNMC. Adherents may include young people who have grown up in the congregation, but have not, and may never, accept baptism. It includes some who have been baptized as infants, and never intend to be baptized as adults, and are accepted as such (in fact, WNMC includes full members in this category).  There are many full members at WNMC who would be quite comfortable including as "adherents" participants in congregational life who remain fully committed to non-Christian traditions.  Even the category of full members includes significant diversity in belief, theological expression and religious practice, to the extent that there are some who would question whether all representations of that diversity reasonably fall into the category of "Christian".  The culture of WNMC continues to place significant weight on ethics. However, it is questionable whether the ethical norms of this congregation differ substantially from mainstream society. This is probably the case with hot button issues relating to sexuality, divorce and same sex marriage, but it is likely also the case with the iconic Mennonite peace position. Non-Mennonite Christian denominations and even secular Canadian society have come much closer to a pacifistic perspective over the decades, and when push comes to shove, I would predict a majority of Mennonites would eventually concede a legitimate role for law enforcement and enlightened application of military force (e.g. the international law notion of Responsibility to Protect).  Contemporary Mennonites continue to value their roots and identity, but there is increasingly little to distinguish them from mainstream Canadians. Members of Mennonite congregations seem to have less and less of a need to ground their daily lives, careers and even activities of their children in the life of the congregation. The walls of the congregation have dissolved, and one may legitimately ask whether the Mennonite way of a gathered community of baptized believers has run its course.

North American Mennonites Today: Boundaries are Dissolving

REFRAMING THE NARRATIVE - MAYBE IT IS ABOUT THE CENTRE, NOT THE BOUNDARIES

The story I have just told may have some truth to it.

At the very least, I would argue it sets up a useful framework to explain a little bit about how the people that make up WNMC have ended up looking the way they do.  

It is completely understandable that Mennonite communities, born in an era of intense persecution, and critical of the way larger Christian denominations seemed to de-emphasize the centrality of an ethical life modelled on Jesus' teachings in the gospels, would define themselves by their differences from the wider world. However, boundaries are not the only way of signifying commonality and community. I would suggest reframing the narrative by removing the frame. For WNMC, this would mean placing metaphorical weight not on the walls of the congregation, but that which forms its centre - in this case, the candle that is lit at the commencement of every service. What we have then is not a community that is defined by its walls, but a gathering in which the participants are in varying proximity to the centre. What is most significant in this metaphor, is not whether a person is inside or outside, or that person's particular character, conviction or belief, but proximity to the fount and foundation of faith. To extend the metaphor further, it may very well be that an "interloper" within the crumbling walls of the congregation may be closer to the Christ than a "conventional" and diligent Mennonite baptized believer. I would suggest that the evolution of religious practice at WNMC may be explained and perhaps justified by just such a metaphor. It has been some years now since it has become the practice to offer grapes in conjunction with bread and wine during communion - grapes for those, either children or adult unbaptized, who would historically have been excluded from any participation in a communion service. Similarly, the very evolution of the term "adherent" reflects a dissatisfaction with the notion of membership that would exclude many who are otherwise active participants in the community. Some of these thoughts will receive further development in later posts, but as a final thought, perhaps it is the case that the metaphor of the candle defining the centre of the community rather that the walls of the congregation defining its boundaries, is a better description of the essence of even historical Anabaptism and Mennonite practice and belief. We will not venture a theological account of the candle metaphor at this stage. However, the image can certainly carry christological meaning or connote illumination of the spirit: "The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world." [John 1:9].

The Next Mennonites? Defined by the Light at the Centre of the Gathering, rather than the boundaries around it