On the Outside ..

[temporal1]

This thread is about what questions and thoughts, possibly presumptions, non-Anabaptist MN members had when they registered, and may still have.

i'll start with one i remembered, after reading this post from appleman:
I think it is funny / Page 3
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=47&start=20

I have found it interesting how upset some people were at Times naming Trump 'person of the year'. I wonder what their reaction will be when they discover he has been elected the next president of the USA.

This post reminded me the Nickel Mines tragedy, witnessing how the Amish community refused to allow their pain be exploited by media+politicians, they refused "the circus."
along with many others, i loved this. i believe in this.

at the time, tho it may sound ludicrous to others, i thought, "the U.S. needs an Amish president."

after reading and learning on MD, i learned this was nearly impossible, and, probably not even advisable. i have to leave room for God's Will, i cannot limit His Will.

after (virtually) "getting to know" appleman, i thought, and, i admit, i still think, he would make a good POTUS. notwithstanding Canada, and, all-the-rest.

i expect to add more examples.

your turn

this thread is open to all who care to post.

[temporal1]

Who "owns" the Conservative Anabaptists? / Page 2
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=148&start=10

When I first joined MennoDiscuss, it seemed weird that it was a Mennonite forum that was dominated by people that were not even part of a Mennonite church.

Not that MN is any different; excluding hermits with inflated post counts, the top six, responsible for just over half of the posts, are (to the best of my knowledge) not active members of a Mennonite church, plain or otherwise, though one may be moving in that direction.

RZ may have the #1 question/observation of new MD-MN members.
From casual appearances, nearly everyone coming to MD-MN comes first with interest in, questions for Conservative Anabaptists. It's a conundrum.

Those with personal+immediate interest in joining are often led away from the internet right away. (There's a thread for that.) For this reason, i see no real change on the horizon - for a "majority" CM presence.

(presence. even that word is an MN conundrum. "presence of active posters," might be more accurate? there is a good "presence" of read-only members, most CM's??)
never underestimate the quiet ones.

Not to mention, CM majority is not the stated purpose of the forum.
(i believe) CM presence is what "makes" MD-MN; if this presence disappeared, likely no more forum. the central interest is gone.

why? -
"others" are well represented on the internet. colorful, flashy websites, inviting graphics, et al.
even liberal Mennonites have lots of colorful internet presence. websites, FB pages, and more.

by comparison, MD-MN are plain sites. one must read. and think.

MN remains a valuable resource.
Even though it is not what we imagined it would be, before "entering."

i don't believe even 1 member has ever posted, "MD-MN is just as i imagined."
for some, it turns out to be more, for others, less. for still others, "nothing."

but isn't that true of about any new experience we have in life?
should MN be an exception, for some reason?

[appleman2006]

This thread is about what questions and thoughts, possibly presumptions, non-Anabaptist MN members had when they registered, and may still have.

i'll start with one i remembered, after reading this post from appleman:
I think it is funny / Page 3
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=47&start=20

I have found it interesting how upset some people were at Times naming Trump 'person of the year'. I wonder what their reaction will be when they discover he has been elected the next president of the USA.

This post reminded me the Nickel Mines tragedy, witnessing how the Amish community refused to allow their pain be exploited by media+politicians, they refused "the circus."
along with many others, i loved this. i believe in this.

at the time, tho it may sound ludicrous to others, i thought, "the U.S. needs an Amish president."

after reading and learning on MD, i learned this was nearly impossible, and, probably not even advisable. i have to leave room for God's Will, i cannot limit His Will.

after (virtually) "getting to know" appleman, i thought, and, i admit, i still think, he would make a good POTUS. notwithstanding Canada, and, all-the-rest.

i expect to add more examples.

your turn

this thread is open to all who care to post.

I can assure you I would make a horrible president for many many reasons not the least being that fulfilling the role of commander in chief would be so far away from anything my conscience would allow me to do that it would automatically make me a complete failure in every way.
Oh and being 7 generations removed from your fair country might also be a problem. Just saying. But it is flattering to know I would have one vote anyway.

[temporal1]

I can assure you I would make a horrible president for many many reasons not the least being that fulfilling the role of commander in chief would be so far away from anything my conscience would allow me to do that it would automatically make me a complete failure in every way.
Oh and being 7 generations removed from your fair country might also be a problem. Just saying. But it is flattering to know I would have one vote anyway.

you have 1 nomination, and, 1 vote. the rest is up to God.

[temporal1]

New to MD, with just a couple of questions, possibly the FIRST topic that really grabbed my attention was on Marriage-Divorce-Remarriage.

This topic was being discussed, at times, with a lot of heat.
i remember trying to read between the (arguments) to understand just what CM's believed and lived.
honestly, i had never known of this level of formal commitment, not just between the husband and wife, but that also involved their fellowship community.

i suppose, it was my existing love of the Book of Hosea that drew me so strongly.
i was intrigued by Hosea and Gomer, but i was not sure i understood the Book.
i'd never had anyone to discuss it with, it was never discussed in any sermon i could recall, etc.

i wanted to learn more.

[temporal1]

in addition to Marriage-Divorce-Remarriage, i began to learn about other things i'd (mostly) never formally thought about:
headcoverings,
plain dress/modest dress,
headship,
women in ministry,
music restrictions,
internet, television, etc., restrictions,
brotherhood ..
there must be more.

learning about these things, in scriptural context, was new.

learning about conferences, and differences in conferences.

still learning.
just this week, noticed some new CM posts unlike any i believe i've ever seen.
so. just scratching the surface.

politics,
use/non-use of law/litigation,
restriction of employment,
requirements for location of home to fellowship for membership,
the list goes on ..

[Bootstrap]

From casual appearances, nearly everyone coming to MD-MN comes first with interest in, questions for Conservative Anabaptists. It's a conundrum.

We might hear more from them if people would let them speak for themselves, and if we wouldn't talk so much about them when they are right here in the room. Ditto for non-plain Mennonites, we have both kinds of Mennonites here, why not ask questions for people who belong those groups to answer?

And I think there are also at least a handful of non-plain Mennonites / Anabaptists who are members of such churches or have been members of such churches and still identify as such. We honor Conservative Anabaptists and like to fellowship with them, but we are not plain.

I actually had no idea that most members were plain for several months after I joined, I simply didn't think to ask.

I know that you came here because you were interested in plain Mennonites. To really get to know them, it's probably best to regularly attend one of their churches and see if you are interested in membership. A lot of this involves cultural elements, and it's very hard to get to know a foreign culture by reading an Internet forum. But I'm speaking out of turn, I am not a plain Mennonite, it would be best to hear from them to see if they agree or disagree - are there any plain Mennos who want to weigh in on this?

Those with personal+immediate interest in joining are often led away from the internet right away. (There's a thread for that.) For this reason, i see no real change on the horizon - for a "majority" CM presence.

There was a time when most posts on MennoDiscuss were from plain Mennonites. I don't think the main difference involves people stopping Internet use. But again, the plain Mennonites can better answer these questions than you and I can - are there any plain Mennos who have a feel for this?

(i believe) CM presence is what "makes" MD-MN; if this presence disappeared, likely no more forum. the central interest is gone.

why? -
"others" are well represented on the internet. colorful, flashy websites, inviting graphics, et al.
even liberal Mennonites have lots of colorful internet presence. websites, FB pages, and more.

Now you're speaking for my end of the spectrum too, and I really do disagree.

Among non-plain Mennos, there's a big divide between the "liberation theology" Mennos and the "simple obedience to Scripture" Mennos, and the gay issue is one of the major dividing lines. People like me really don't have a lot of places to hang out with biblically minded, Mennonite-oriented Christians. We are emphatically not Pink Mennos, and Mennonerds is not a terribly comfortable place for us either. That's why we are here.

The Conservative Mennonites have generally welcomed us here.

[temporal1]

i'm speaking from my perspective and my experience.
this thread is for sharing those things, not about debating whether they are right or wrong, or accurate.

please post from your experience, which you have partly done.
i'm not planning to respond to your interpretations of what i attempted to communicate.

i'll just say, i don't agree with your interpretations and presumptions.
which i find largely disturbing.

[Bootstrap]

i'm speaking from my perspective and my experience.

I wish you were. I wish you would say, "I came here mainly because I wanted to hear from Conservative Anabaptists", not "most people come here because...". I don't think you can speak from the perspective of "most people". I would like to hear a lot more about your own feelings and perspective and faith struggles - I sometimes feel I don't hear much of that.

When you tell us that the CMs aren't posting because they are being led away from the Internet, that's not your perspective either, that's speaking for them. And when you say that non-plain Mennonites have lots of other places to go, that's not your perspective, that's speaking for people like me. You may not come here to hear from the non-plain Mennos. There may be people who don't come here to listen to you either. We're both here.

You're welcome here, you don't have to be Mennonite to be here. But if we speak about the CMs and speak for the CMs, we probably won't hear from the CMs. And if there's a lot of conflict and contentiousness, they will withdraw further. Again, that's my perspective and I'm speaking out of turn, it would be best to hear from them whether this is true or not. But I think I've been hearing them say things like this.

[temporal1]

another thread, ruined. o.well.