Charity Ministries and assorted other topics

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective
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Adam
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Charity Ministries and assorted other topics

Post by Adam »

Can someone give me a short history on what has happened at Charity Ministries? It seems like it has had a controversial history, with reports of abusive practices, particularly towards Denny Kenaston. I have browsed Charity Ministries Insider, but I have not had an easy time finding a summary of what the complaints and criticisms are. Nor do I know how objective that site is. I am not asking to try to stir up controversy or unhealthy debate by asking this question. Rather, as one who has listened to messages from Charity from time-to-time, I want to make sure that I am not opening myself up to something that could be detrimental to my spiritual growth.

My only interaction with people from Charity was during my time receiving linguistics training at the University of North Dakota. There was a group from Charity, and my wife and I always felt like they were looking at us as if we were heathens. That may not actually be the case, but that is how we felt. And certainly we did not hold to Kingdom principles at that point. I even told one of the Charity men at one point that I would like to learn more about his church, but he didn't seem to want to share. At the same time, there was a couple from an Amish-Mennonite church (no connection to Charity--Ernie, you know them), who were very loving and friendly toward us, and whom we kept in contact with. Incidentally, it is the man from that couple who I connected with at first when starting this journey towards becoming a Kingdom Christian. That is not to say that everyone from Charity is like those whom we encountered, but that was just my personal experience.

So any insights about Charity that others could offer would be appreciated.
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Ernie
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by Ernie »

There were two ex-Amish men and a fundamental Baptist [???] who started the Charity congregation in the 80's. It soon became a movement. When it became obvious to the one ex-Amish man that this was going to be a reactionary movement, he joined the Amish-Mennonites.

The other two went on to decry the lack of spirituality in conservative Anabaptist churches and to preach being born of the Spirit. Many ex-conservative Anabaptists were rebaptized (some legitimately and some not) and some were rebaptized more than once if I understand correctly. There was no networking between Charity and conservative Anabaptist churches (with the exception of a few fringe groups like Shippensburg Fellowship). There was no desire to network since Charity saw conservative Anabaptists as a mission field. They especially saw the Old Orders as a mission field.
There were different points of theology being promoted by Charity that was foreign to historic Anabaptist thought and so there was no interest in networking from either side.
Charity didn't believe in written standards but rather following the Spirit. However, "elder authority" became the default. Elders were ordained and then "de-ordained" in many congregations. The instability created a lot of trauma for families and youth.

About 10 years ago or so the whole system began to implode and youth began to leave by the droves. Some of the leaders began to see their arrogance and began to reach out to conservative Anabaptist churches for "the right hand of fellowship". Today there is quite a bit of partnership with other conservative Anabaptist groups and institutions. I expect to see more in the future.

"Charity" was a movement, not an organization.

There are/were many exceptions to what I just described. There were individuals and congregations who had much less reaction and have stayed closer to historic Anabaptist theology. There are folks on the opposite side of the spectrum who are still quite snobbish and reactionary.

That is my nutshell. I'm sure others will be able to add to this.
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Ernie
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by Ernie »

This post from 2012 @ CMInsider describes the kind of atmosphere in the mainstream Charity movement, that has made many of us want to keep some distance between us and the movement... At the same time we want to extend the right hand of fellowship to any individuals in the Charity movement who are not like this.
Over the years I have watched the Charity movement. I had a family member, who was closely involved with them, have known people who attended the church, attended some of their tent meetings, and attended a Charity wedding. I have no doubt they are sincere people. But what always stands out is a sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant spirit of pride. It always reminded me of the Pharisee in Luke 18, who went up to the temple to pray and arrogantly thanked God, that he wasn’t as other men, especially the Publican also praying in the Temple. They seemed think themselves so much better than the Anabaptist groups and were so glad they weren’t like the Mennonites, the Amish, the Hutterites, and of course better than main line protestant churches.

I can still remember the wedding we attended about 10 years ago. There was so much bragging the couple up, the fact that they had a “hands off relationship” was the bragged up ad nauseous. Having a “hands off relationship was noble, the bragging about it, was the sin of pride. At the tent meetings there seemed to be a worshiping of the speaker and not the Lord. I can still hear one of the attendees gushing over the father of the speaker and saying, “You must be so PROUD of your son”, giving so much credit to the Speaker, and not the Lord.

I am sorry for the death of Denny Kenaston and I am sorry about the suffering he had to go through. And I am sorry that the prevalent “Charity Pride” even came through in a bragging form in his obituary. Pride is a sin. It is the root of all other sins. I fear that the sin of bragging and pride has become so much a part of their culture, and Satan has them blinded to it. That is really sad.
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The old woodcutter spoke again. “It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge?"
Judas Maccabeus
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by Judas Maccabeus »

Ernie wrote:There were two ex-Amish men and a fundamental Baptist [???] who started the Charity congregation in the 80's. It soon became a movement. When it became obvious to the one ex-Amish man that this was going to be a reactionary movement, he joined the Amish-Mennonites.

The other two went on to decry the lack of spirituality in conservative Anabaptist churches and to preach being born of the Spirit. Many ex-conservative Anabaptists were rebaptized (some legitimately and some not) and some were rebaptized more than once if I understand correctly. There was no networking between Charity and conservative Anabaptist churches (with the exception of a few fringe groups like Shippensburg Fellowship). There was no desire to network since Charity saw conservative Anabaptists as a mission field. They especially saw the Old Orders as a mission field.
There were different points of theology being promoted by Charity that was foreign to historic Anabaptist thought and so there was no interest in networking from either side.
Charity didn't believe in written standards but rather following the Spirit. However, "elder authority" became the default. Elders were ordained and then "de-ordained" in many congregations. The instability created a lot of trauma for families and youth.

About 10 years ago or so the whole system began to implode and youth began to leave by the droves. Some of the leaders began to see their arrogance and began to reach out to conservative Anabaptist churches for "the right hand of fellowship". Today there is quite a bit of partnership with other conservative Anabaptist groups and institutions. I expect to see more in the future.

"Charity" was a movement, not an organization.

There are/were many exceptions to what I just described. There were individuals and congregations who had much less reaction and have stayed closer to historic Anabaptist theology. There are folks on the opposite side of the spectrum who are still quite snobbish and reactionary.

That is my nutshell. I'm sure others will be able to add to this.
Thanks. I have asked this question and never really got a good explanation as to what went wrong.

J.M.
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gcdonner
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by gcdonner »

Judas Maccabeus wrote:
Ernie wrote:There were two ex-Amish men and a fundamental Baptist [???] who started the Charity congregation in the 80's. It soon became a movement. When it became obvious to the one ex-Amish man that this was going to be a reactionary movement, he joined the Amish-Mennonites.

The other two went on to decry the lack of spirituality in conservative Anabaptist churches and to preach being born of the Spirit. Many ex-conservative Anabaptists were rebaptized (some legitimately and some not) and some were rebaptized more than once if I understand correctly. There was no networking between Charity and conservative Anabaptist churches (with the exception of a few fringe groups like Shippensburg Fellowship). There was no desire to network since Charity saw conservative Anabaptists as a mission field. They especially saw the Old Orders as a mission field.
There were different points of theology being promoted by Charity that was foreign to historic Anabaptist thought and so there was no interest in networking from either side.
Charity didn't believe in written standards but rather following the Spirit. However, "elder authority" became the default. Elders were ordained and then "de-ordained" in many congregations. The instability created a lot of trauma for families and youth.

About 10 years ago or so the whole system began to implode and youth began to leave by the droves. Some of the leaders began to see their arrogance and began to reach out to conservative Anabaptist churches for "the right hand of fellowship". Today there is quite a bit of partnership with other conservative Anabaptist groups and institutions. I expect to see more in the future.

"Charity" was a movement, not an organization.

There are/were many exceptions to what I just described. There were individuals and congregations who had much less reaction and have stayed closer to historic Anabaptist theology. There are folks on the opposite side of the spectrum who are still quite snobbish and reactionary.

That is my nutshell. I'm sure others will be able to add to this.
Thanks. I have asked this question and never really got a good explanation as to what went wrong.

J.M.
It should be noted in all fairness, that Denny Kennisten stood before his congregation before he died and confessed a lot of things that he had come to realize were wrong in their movement, particularly from his own teachings and attitudes. He was a humble man before his death.
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quietpilgrim
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by quietpilgrim »

Hello Adam,

Our family presently attends (but are not members of) a Charity affiliated church. While we are relative newcomers to the movement in so far as actually attending an affiliated church on a regular basis, we have engaged with the Charity movement since the early 2000's, particularly through the Heartbeat of the Remnant, the Gospel Tape Ministry, and to a lesser extent, interaction with various churches in the movement.

Forgive me, but I'm not certain from your question about "what has happened" whether you are were asking about the movement as a whole, the decision to reorganize Charity Ministries and to allow Ephrata and Charity to each run their own ministry, or Charity Christian Fellowship specifically. So I will simply speak to you from my heart and share my personal perspectives.

To begin, I personally do not find the blog you cited to be particularly useful in this discussion. It is not that I don't find the testimonies of "exers" (no matter their former religious affiliation) to be all together unprofitable. But when truth is overtaken by emotion, writings such as this can become less about the truth and more about an agenda, which is what I unfortunately believe to be the case here.

I found Ernie's original post to you to be, for the most part, both objective and fair. Two points of clarification. First, Denny Kenaston (may God rest his soul) attended Hyles-Anderson, a Baptist college which is self-described as independent and fundamental. Secondly, while certain "Charity Churches" have indeed softened their attitude toward other Anabaptist groups to the extent of being engaged in charitable works with them (such as working together with CAM), I believe it would be a mistake to necessarily equate this with tacit approval of the other groups.

As Ernie said, "Charity" is a movement, not an organization. Or perhaps more precisely, "was" a movement. I am not certain, that here is 2017, it would any longer be accurate to call churches associated with the movement "Charity Churches", and probably hasn't been for some time. The benchmark of a "Charity Church" was a congregation that somehow related to Charity Christian Fellowship (the mother church, if I may use that term) and mirrored her teachings in both in doctrine and application. Today, there are churches that are in the movement that neither relate to the mother church nor are united with her in doctrine or application. Some are united to the former ideals that the mother church held up, and not those of the present day. Others have taken an even more progressive trajectory than Charity Christian Fellowship. And it has led to discord.

To begin to understand "what has happened", you must understand that Denny Kenaston was, perhaps single-handedly, the unifying force behind the Charity Movement. He was the face and the voice of the movement for all those years. How many countless tapes that were sent by Charity Ministries started with Brother Denny's greeting, "This is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Gospel Tape Ministries..." How many families were brought into the movement through his Godly Home series? Who has been able to fill his shoes since his departure from Charity Christian Fellowship and this life?

In the years since Denny's departure, Charity Christian Fellowship is not what it once was. The modesty standards have become more relaxed. They have adopted the Sunday School model rather than the "integrated church" model which they once held as an ideal. And there has been tumult because of decisions made by their mission organization, Charity Gospel Missions.

I'd also like to suggest that the very nature of the Charity Movement seems to breed instability. Charity has always been a melting pot of those from diverse religious backgrounds, and often as individuals and families we find ourselves moving in the direction where others have come from. This has been the cause of much friction and conflict in certain congregations.

I think what makes me most sad is how much good could have been accomplished for the kingdom that now must be counted as lost opportunity. What a mighty work of God could have been wrought in our day! What strikes me most when visiting various churches in the movement is not all the young families, but the complete lack of the seasoned example of older Christian men and women. Where are all the Christian parents now who were 30 or 40 years old when they enthusiastically joined the movement in 1980's and 90's? Where are their children? Why are we closed lipped about it? Why do we treat the subject with seeming indifference? I have yet to receive a personally satisfying response to any of these questions.

Therefore, I must wonder - are those young parents today only setting themselves and their children up to repeat history again? My heart aches.

May God bless you as you seek Him.

QP
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Adam
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by Adam »

Thanks, QP, for adding your input. It is helpful and appreciated.
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Dan Z
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by Dan Z »

A very fair analysis in my experience QP.

I guess we may be one of those young families that were drawn to the movement 25+ years ago...and have since moved on.

Our contact with Charity began during its "heyday" in the late 80s, early 90's - we were a young "seeker" couple at the time, in our upper 20s, drawn to the non-conformed, family-centered, Anabaptit-style expression of faith we found in the group - as well as the zeal for God we felt among these folks.

We also were challenged by Brother Denny's authoritative and uncompromised teaching - he seemed to see things so clearly - and he applied faith quite practically to family life. Brother Mose Stoltzfus and his wife Sister Rhoda were a nurturing pastoral presence in our life (and the lives of many others) - and provided a stabilizing offset to Brother Denny's charismatic style. One additional thing that drew us was the cross-section of families who were part of the movement - a mix of people who enabled Charity to feel like a welcoming place for both ethnic and non-ethnic Mennos alike. We made a number of close friends as a result.

We attended regularly for about a year while we lived in Lancaster County, and related from a distance for a total of about 10 years (we lived 2 hours away, and were members of a Mennonite church at the time). We look back gratefully for the role Charity payed in our faith and family's formation. In hindsight, I think the movement was at times more authoritarian, more fundamentalist, more prideful, and more intense than it should have been...but I don't think we should disregard the spiritual and practical good that came out of this movement. It's reach for the Kingdom was significant...and reverberates to this day.
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mike
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by mike »

I was a member of a Charity-affiliate congregation from 1996-2005. It was formative for me also - converted under Denny Kenaston's preaching, attended Charity Bible school a couple of years. I ended up going against the tide in my church due in some degree to influence from conservative Mennonite perspectives including Faith Builders, Shippensburg Christian Fellowship, etc. Ended up part of an independent conservative Mennonite congregation.

It has been almost literally breathtaking to witness the fallout of the Charity movement in the past 10-15 years. An incredible number of Amish, Mennonite, and Hutterites flocked to the quasi-Anabaptist movement, only to leave it in a few short years for evangelicalism, discarding many or all vestiges of Anabaptist theology and culture or even Christianity altogether. An equally astonishing number of people from evangelical churches poured into Charity and affiliated churches, again in a short-lived experiment with revivalist plain Anabaptism. The fallout in many families has been nothing short of disastrous.

I can't discount the good the movement has done, in my own life as well as many others, but I can not help but think that the Charity movement contained the catalyst for its own demise. Dan diplomatically pointed out some of these. I will also say that the blame for the problems of the movement go back further to the problems in both Anabaptist and non-Anabaptist churches of the time. Amish, Mennonite, and Hutterite groups had and continue to have deep-seated problems leaving many of their members needy and vulnerable to a strong revivalist message. Evangelical groups had and continue to have the same issues, and people were hungry for authentic faith and holiness in lifestyle. Charity was a product of the times.
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MaxPC
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Re: Charity Ministries

Post by MaxPC »

mike wrote: Charity was a product of the times.
Just wondering:
Do you think it has evolved enough to survive by learning from its mistakes? I've seen churches who do manage that.
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