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Wade wrote:

RZehr wrote:I see intermediate conservative mennonites somewhat freely interact and connect with charity people, german baptists, followers of the way, ultra conservative mennonites, moderate conservative mennonites. Depending on the person not all intermediates will interact with all these groups, but I do. I consider the differences between these groups and myself mostly superficial.
If I was in an area with only one of these churches I feel like I could, with a little effort, make myself at home.
What I highlighted didn't exist in the first few Mennonite churches we attended. However this perspective you share is real important for a new comer to progress. Thank you for sharing. Very helpful for separating conviction, opinion, and preference. Submission can be much easier to understand from this angle.

But RZehr, aren't there a sizeable percentage of people in your fellowship that would not be comfortable with this?

MaxPC wrote:

RZehr wrote: MCUSA, in my opinion, has much more in common with evangelical churches than with conservative anabaptist churches. I feel like literally the only thing we have in common is the name Mennonite.

If MCUSA has become more like the evangelical churches, they might be looking at their future in this article.

What particular doctrines from the 1995 Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective would you feel matter according to that article?

MaxPC wrote:

RZehr wrote: MCUSA, in my opinion, has much more in common with evangelical churches than with conservative anabaptist churches. I feel like literally the only thing we have in common is the name Mennonite.

If MCUSA has become more like the evangelical churches, they might be looking at their future in this article.

IMHO, MCUSA, at least around here, is more like mainline churches like PCUSA and United Methodist than evangelical churches, if you remove the Lancaster Conf. from the MCUSA count. And if they follow in the footsteps of this bunch, it is their future.

J.M.

Ernie wrote:

Wade wrote:

RZehr wrote:I see intermediate conservative mennonites somewhat freely interact and connect with charity people, german baptists, followers of the way, ultra conservative mennonites, moderate conservative mennonites. Depending on the person not all intermediates will interact with all these groups, but I do. I consider the differences between these groups and myself mostly superficial.
If I was in an area with only one of these churches I feel like I could, with a little effort, make myself at home.
What I highlighted didn't exist in the first few Mennonite churches we attended. However this perspective you share is real important for a new comer to progress. Thank you for sharing. Very helpful for separating conviction, opinion, and preference. Submission can be much easier to understand from this angle.

But RZehr, aren't there a sizeable percentage of people in your fellowship that would not be comfortable with this?

There would be. But the discomfort would not at all be for the same reasons. For example, there are some I know that would feel unthreatened by charity or fotw but would feel threatened by moderates.
A few lean ultra conservative, and would not be comfortable with the others.
What it really seems to come down to is each persons life experiences and their personal relationships that they have or had with people in these various groups.
Also, I'm talking about this interaction on a personal or family level, not at a church level.

I don't know if I clarified anything or not.

RZehr wrote:

Ernie wrote:

Wade wrote:

But RZehr, aren't there a sizeable percentage of people in your fellowship that would not be comfortable with this?

Also, I'm talking about this interaction on a personal or family level, not at a church level.
I don't know if I clarified anything or not.

Thanks. This helps!

I find it interesting some people would feel threatened around moderate conservatives but not around Charity or FOTW.

I feel great peace around moderate conservatives and good fellowship. The Midwest Fellowship meetings were a wonderful time for me. I didn't know there were so many folks with whom I could see eye to eye.

Charity or FOTW is stressful for me. I tend to walk away wondering if I really know Jesus at all and doubting my salvation. I am beginning to think it may be best for my spiritual health to just avoid such gatherings or people inclined to them.

Josh wrote: Charity or FOTW is stressful for me. I tend to walk away wondering if I really know Jesus at all and doubting my salvation. I am beginning to think it may be best for my spiritual health to just avoid such gatherings or people inclined to them.

At KFW, I had an ad-hoc prayer group leader from Charity who started off by asking us to retell the moment we "got saved" independent of our works. Let's just say that I was unamused, as was another young man on a journey similar to mine.