Features of Lancaster Mennonite Conference that transmitted to Conservative Spin-offs

[Ernie]

Did LMC used to have these 3-week Bible schools that all the conservative conferences seem to have?

Yes, my mother attended Millwood Bible School around 1960. I'm not sure how long it lasted. (Millwood, PA in Lancaster)

[Josh]

JayP,

I would say that Easternism is a complex set of contradictions. Ernie's description of ultra conservatives is "people who think the Mennonite church as of 1930 or 1950 was perfect, and want to preserve that forever". They generally do not want to think about how their church was not "conservative" in 1930 or 1950, or think about what caused all the changes up to that point. Nor do they think that the conditions that made them the way they are, are not something that can be replicated for their own children or grandchildren.

The Washington Co. & Franklin Co. conference is a bit more interesting to me, simply because it has fewer of these contradictions. A crowd like Eastern is essentially a restorationist movement, trying to recreate some glory days of the past that may or may not have ever existed. And, frankly, the whole Conservative Mennonite world tends to be infected with this, which is why I personally find the Old Order or related movements a lot more attractive.

[Ernie]

In fact, there's a whole lot to think about when you consider the new "old men" of Eastern, are themselves graduates of schools, levels of education, and have the wisdom of earthly experiences they would steadfastly deny their own youth.
Let me be specific. How many who hold much influence in Eastern attending Lancaster Mennonite High School, which I'd bet you dollars to donuts while conservative-ish, was an education that wildly exceeds that of most 'good' public high schools today. The men I knew, although not college graduates, often had equal educations. And those that served in the Danville and Wilmington VS units in the late 60s (thru MMM) had convictions forged in pretty hot fire. Yet they would think sending youth into such environments not worth the risk. I am not making a judgment here.

These men know that many of their contemporaries did not fair very well spiritually, do not take for granted that God spared them from experiencing the heartaches of their contemporaries who are not doing well, and want to have a church where the percentages of godly descendants are considerably higher than what they see in their contemporaries/descendents.
In fact it was this very point that caused one Evangelical family to join Eastern many years ago. As various families got up in front of the church on one occasion, and he realized that most of them were not saved, it was a wake up call for him, and he joined an Eastern church. He wanted better statistics for his children and eventually grandchildren. He is now an old man, (if he is still living) and has children and dozens of grandchildren are living for the Lord.

[JayP]

Ernie,

What you said is quite correct and I understand it. BTW, I know the family of whom you spoke.
But what strikes me is that some of the men who help create EPMC, I mean the young men in the trenches, not the bishops at the time, went on to become influential and themselves ministry. Yet, the excellent thinking they brought to the table, and I confess were significant in my choosing to join, is sliding away, as their prodigy are the product of their limited education systems and group think.

Note, I find from purely mechanics, their educational system is good in terms of reading, writing, etc. but any abilities for critical thinking, thinking outside the box, etc. is absent.

I understand not wanting to lose children to the risks, yet we know no sword can be tempered in luke warm heat either.
Again, I hardly claim to have all the answers but I worry that the caliber of many younger men I know in Eastern, including Ministry, are not intellectually up to the challenges of the future.

[barnhart]

So, what are some of the unique features of LMC, as it was in the 1960s, that are still to be found in today's conservative Mennonite groups?

How about things like Sunday school, raised pulpits, twice yearly communion, order of service (two songs, devotional, ss, announcements, preaching), tracking attendance and offering on a board up front, visible clocks, ss literature, mailboxes.

[cooper]

I was looking through the documents related to Pilgrim's formation on www.sounddoctrinearchives.org. This is tangentially related to the thread, but I thought it was interesting. You get the sense Lancaster Conference is superior to these ex-Old Order. The letter is to Steve Ebersole from a lay member who notes tension between the Lebanon district and other Eastern districts. He says

Part of this can be explained by the fact that to a large extent the Lebanon district likely has the largest concentration of Lancaster Conference people, whereas most of the other districts are made up of people who come from Horning or old Order background. So you have people with differing backgrounds and teachings coming up with differing conclusions and applications

The entire letter can be found here.

[Biblical Anabaptist]

Did LMC used to have these 3-week Bible schools that all the conservative conferences seem to have?

As I recall in my early teens there were young people older than myself who went to, I believe it was, Millwood Bible School for several weeks. I think it was somewhere in the Lancaster area.

[JayP]

I don’t understand considering Wash/Frank much different than Eastern. It simply made the same choice at a different time. The groups freely trade pulpits, marry, etc,

Indeed, I would argue groups like WashFrank, yorkAdams and even now Appl will survive only because EPMC and NWF provide the center these smaller groups can rotate around. I do not think they would survive otherwise.

[Ernie]

I don’t understand considering Wash/Frank much different than Eastern. It simply made the same choice at a different time. The groups freely trade pulpits, marry, etc,

Indeed, I would argue groups like WashFrank, yorkAdams and even now Appl will survive only because EPMC and NWF provide the center these smaller groups can rotate around. I do not think they would survive otherwise.

Washington/Franklin has about 2000 members. So I don't think they rotate around Eastern anymore and could go on without them.
When I was a child they did depend on Eastern to a greater extent.

[Ernie]

Ernie,

What you said is quite correct and I understand it. BTW, I know the family of whom you spoke.
But what strikes me is that some of the men who help create EPMC, I mean the young men in the trenches, not the bishops at the time, went on to become influential and themselves ministry. Yet, the excellent thinking they brought to the table, and I confess were significant in my choosing to join, is sliding away, as their prodigy are the product of their limited education systems and group think.

Note, I find from purely mechanics, their educational system is good in terms of reading, writing, etc. but any abilities for critical thinking, thinking outside the box, etc. is absent.

I understand not wanting to lose children to the risks, yet we know no sword can be tempered in luke warm heat either.
Again, I hardly claim to have all the answers but I worry that the caliber of many younger men I know in Eastern, including Ministry, are not intellectually up to the challenges of the future.

I don't disagree with what you say. My dad and his family did much more critical thinking than many in the church. But I was in my 30's before I found myself really needing to exercise critical thinking when I came face-to-face with the world we are living in.