Amish Mennonite Categorization

[Elmer]

Do the different Intermediate and ultra conservative groups affiliate with each other? Would the Intermediate conservative Mennonite Christian Fellowship let a Preacher from Ambassadors share in their church and vice versa? Would the Tennessee Churches let a Berea Preacher share in their church? Would the Intermediate Amish Mennonites let an Intermediate Mennonite Preacher (for example a Pilgrim preacher) share in their church (or are some things such as solids and beards a dividing line)? It seems to me that Ultra conservatives generally do not affiliate much with other Ultra Conservative groups, while the Intermediate Conservatives are much more free in interacting with other Intermediate Conservative Anabaptists. (I guess that's just my assumption - it may not be true?)

[JayP]

I can answer for whatever the code is for Eastern type churches.
In general, they are fine with folks intermingling. Fellowship (NWF) ministers have preached in Eastern including IMHO the best revival preaching I ever saw. I think the only hesitations are when there have been direct “conflicts”. So you do not see Eastern and Pilgrim preach in each other’s churches. I know York and Adams County can preach in Eastern but I have no idea if Appalachian will. I am a little unsure how amiable that split was.

I think another factor is not the attitude but geography and need. If you compare NWF and Eastern, Eastern is more organized structurally and with geographical closeness such that they have plenty of ministry to go around. Back when Mendon or Peave River were more of outlier congregations there was strong organization and scheduling to have different ministry come to preach.

You can criticize a lot of things I suppose about Eastern but not their organization!

LOL. I really need to stop seeing so many comparisons with the Soviets!

[Ernie]

Do the different Intermediate and ultra conservative groups affiliate with each other? Would the Intermediate conservative Mennonite Christian Fellowship let a Preacher from Ambassadors share in their church and vice versa? Would the Tennessee Churches let a Berea Preacher share in their church? Would the Intermediate Amish Mennonites let an Intermediate Mennonite Preacher (for example a Pilgrim preacher) share in their church (or are some things such as solids and beards a dividing line)? It seems to me that Ultra conservatives generally do not affiliate much with other Ultra Conservative groups, while the Intermediate Conservatives are much more free in interacting with other Intermediate Conservative Anabaptists. (I guess that's just my assumption - it may not be true?)

Yes, intermediates tend to be more ok fellowshipping with other intermediates. Yes, I'm guessing that MCF and Ambassadors have some back and forth but I can't say for sure.

Ultra-conservatives are ok with fellowshipping back and forth, as long as they are of similar practice. For example, Mennonites with a conference structure will fellowship with other Mennonites of a similar conference structure or discipline. But they may not fellowship with Amish-Mennonites or vice versa.
A conference like Washington-Franklin will typically invite preachers from other ultra-conservative Mennonite conferences to speak in their churches. They tend to not invite Nationwide Fellowship preachers because of differences in discipline and church structure. However, if a Nation preacher shows up as a visitor at a Washington-Franklin church service, they may or may not ask him to preach.

[eccentric_rambler]

I know York and Adams County can preach in Eastern but I have no idea if Appalachian will. I am a little unsure how amiable that split was.

At this point afaik no Appalachian preacher has shared an Eastern pulpit. The announcement made at the time of the split was "we want to give this time to see where they end up", or at least that was the gist as I remember.

[JayP]

That seems about normal. The App split was not “brutal” being mainly over the internet.
And I think the groups not sharing pulpits seems about right in that Eastern has no NEED for those other ministers, and the new group wants to reinforce the can go it alone. I wonder where App will send their youth for Winter Bible school. I would think Numedia does not allow any internet usage while students are there. Would App be okay with that?

I think I really don’t know anyone even fairly remotely (but sufficiently to talk to] that went with APP.
There is an ironic aspect to that group in that Eastern originally promoted holding the “old” LMC discipline.
Yet they then went “more conservative “ by banning the radio, which caused the Bomberger split, and yet it was the internet question (which I could argue is Eastern accepting a more liberal technology)

Someone once said, and I agree, that all Anabaptist Mennonite groups (unlike the horse and buggy OO ones) are always moving.
You are either moving one way or the other on the spectrum. No one just holds.
But it makes me wonder of true, is the answer moving a bit this way, then back the other, sort of tacking like a sailboat across the winds of time and change.

[RZehr]

Someone once said, and I agree, that all Anabaptist Mennonite groups (unlike the horse and buggy OO ones) are always moving.
You are either moving one way or the other on the spectrum. No one just holds.
But it makes me wonder of true, is the answer moving a bit this way, then back the other, sort of tacking like a sailboat across the winds of time and change.

I think they are all moving, Old Order and Amish included. The direction and speed vary.
I like the sail boat analogy.

[steve-in-kville]

Someone once said, and I agree, that all Anabaptist Mennonite groups (unlike the horse and buggy OO ones) are always moving.
You are either moving one way or the other on the spectrum. No one just holds.
But it makes me wonder of true, is the answer moving a bit this way, then back the other, sort of tacking like a sailboat across the winds of time and change.

That is pretty accurate across all strains of Anabaptism.

[Josh]

I think I really don’t know anyone even fairly remotely (but sufficiently to talk to] that went with APP.
There is an ironic aspect to that group in that Eastern originally promoted holding the “old” LMC discipline.
Yet they then went “more conservative “ by banning the radio, which caused the Bomberger split, and yet it was the internet question (which I could argue is Eastern accepting a more liberal technology)

What was the Bomberger split?

[steve-in-kville]

Mid-Atlantic, I think?

[Ken]

Someone once said, and I agree, that all Anabaptist Mennonite groups (unlike the horse and buggy OO ones) are always moving.
You are either moving one way or the other on the spectrum. No one just holds.
But it makes me wonder of true, is the answer moving a bit this way, then back the other, sort of tacking like a sailboat across the winds of time and change.

I think they are all moving, Old Order and Amish included. The direction and speed vary.
I like the sail boat analogy.

That is true of the whole world, not just Anabaptists, and not just religion. It is all of society and every society.