Seekers Gathering 2018 long thread

When it just doesn't fit anywhere else.

Seekers Gathering April 27-29, 2018 ???

 
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Josh
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Josh »

I'm going to politely suggest it would be good to have NMB people involved in organising, running the event, and visibly so.

Let's avoid the irony of a seminar like "Reaching Out to people of Non-Mennonite Background" that was almost entirely Mennonite-background speakers.
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Wayne in Maine
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Wayne in Maine »

I will certainly be there. I have wanted to organize something like this for many years but never had the time or resources or connections.
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Bootstrap
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Bootstrap »

If this is the approach, I'm interested.
Ernie wrote:
Josh wrote: I think it would be useful to:

1. Focus on things that are the core of Christianity and Anabaptism. Divorce & remarriage is not the core of what we believe in, although reconciliation and loving your enemy are, as is fleeing sexual immorality.

2. Briefly share that there are different conservative/plain Anabaptist groups that live these things out different ways, and acknowledge it can be a source of different groups viewing the other as not quite living up to scripture. I think it's better for seekers to understand this earlier rather than later.

3. Share the blessing of being part of a church with healthy fruit and simply submitting to that group on what seem like controversial issues. Sooner or later everyone is going to run into a bizarre issue where they have to do this. And I think this is actually part of the core of Anabaptism.

Otherwise talk about marriage / immorality becomes a totally useless debate club about the nuances of permanent (Webb) vs covenant (Deu. 24) views of marriage. For me, as a seeker, even being aware of that debate, let alone the nuances of it, was spiritually devastating to me.
This is good!
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mike
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by mike »

Josh wrote:I'm going to politely suggest it would be good to have NMB people involved in organising, running the event, and visibly so.

Let's avoid the irony of a seminar like "Reaching Out to people of Non-Mennonite Background" that was almost entirely Mennonite-background speakers.
Sure. Makes sense to me.
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RZehr
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by RZehr »

I would like to attend, but with my plans of moving and getting adjusted this next year, I really can't say what will suit for me next spring.
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Ernie
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Ernie »

We need 40 people to make a reservation and it looks like we should be able to get at least that, so I will go ahead and reserve.

More details in a few months.
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Wayne in Maine
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Wayne in Maine »

Ernie wrote:Anyone who is interested in attending to become familiar with what was commonly believed among early Anabaptists, and also become more familiar with conservative Anabaptist thought, would be very welcome. (John D. Roth has done the latter at various conservative Anabaptist events and because of his respectful attitude, he has been very appreciated.)

If most of the MN attendees would like a larger spectrum represented instead of what I am proposing, that is fine, but then I would want someone else to coordinate it, and I would probably not bring my seeker friends who are interested in learning more about the conservative Anabaptist worldview.
This seems to imply that "conservative Anabaptist thought" can be equated with "what was commonly believed among early Anabaptists". Is there going to be room to make the distinction between the two?
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Wayne in Maine
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Wayne in Maine »

Wayne in Maine wrote:
Ernie wrote:Anyone who is interested in attending to become familiar with what was commonly believed among early Anabaptists, and also become more familiar with conservative Anabaptist thought, would be very welcome. (John D. Roth has done the latter at various conservative Anabaptist events and because of his respectful attitude, he has been very appreciated.)

If most of the MN attendees would like a larger spectrum represented instead of what I am proposing, that is fine, but then I would want someone else to coordinate it, and I would probably not bring my seeker friends who are interested in learning more about the conservative Anabaptist worldview.
This seems to imply that "conservative Anabaptist thought" can be equated with "what was commonly believed among early Anabaptists". Is there going to be room to make the distinction between the two?
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not suggesting that modern progressive Mennonitism or "Social Justice" relabeled as "Anabaptism" are alternative understandings of early Anabaptism. I'm suggesting that those groups who identify as "Conservative Anabaptists" can be considered Progressives in their own right and have assimilated a lot of religious practices and philosophies that set them apart from the first generation of Anabaptists.
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Ernie
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Ernie »

Wayne in Maine wrote:
Wayne in Maine wrote:
Ernie wrote:Anyone who is interested in attending to become familiar with what was commonly believed among early Anabaptists, and also become more familiar with conservative Anabaptist thought, would be very welcome. (John D. Roth has done the latter at various conservative Anabaptist events and because of his respectful attitude, he has been very appreciated.)

If most of the MN attendees would like a larger spectrum represented instead of what I am proposing, that is fine, but then I would want someone else to coordinate it, and I would probably not bring my seeker friends who are interested in learning more about the conservative Anabaptist worldview.
This seems to imply that "conservative Anabaptist thought" can be equated with "what was commonly believed among early Anabaptists". Is there going to be room to make the distinction between the two?
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not suggesting that modern progressive Mennonitism or "Social Justice" relabeled as "Anabaptism" are alternative understandings of early Anabaptism. I'm suggesting that those groups who identify as "Conservative Anabaptists" can be considered Progressives in their own right and have assimilated a lot of religious practices and philosophies that set them apart from the first generation of Anabaptists.
Yes, it will be good to make all of these distinctions as long as nobody gets stereotyped.

I would see us talking about what conservative Anabaptists have retained of the original vision, and what early Anabaptists had (that the early church maybe had) that needs to be reclaimed in the 21st century.
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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?"
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Josh
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Re: Seekers Gathering 2018?

Post by Josh »

Ernie wrote:Yes, it will be good to make all of these distinctions as long as nobody gets stereotyped.

I would see us talking about what conservative Anabaptists have retained of the original vision, and what early Anabaptists had (that the early church maybe had) that needs to be reclaimed in the 21st century.
I think it can be good to simply say how things are, being careful not to say any of us have it perfect.

For example: "Early Anabaptists in 1526 lived in a community of goods, mostly out of necessity. They felt this was following a pattern in scripture in Acts 2.

In the modern day, some Anabaptists try to still live this way, but they are often challenged by how easy it is for even a community of believers to accumulate a lot of wealth in the modern era.

Other Anabaptists own private property, and their brotherhoods wrestle with how to deal with individual believers accumulating a lot of wealth, businesses, land, and other possessions."
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