Questions for Anabaptists: Mainline/Mainstream or Progressive

[Ernie]

Have a question you would like to ask a Mainline/Mainstream or Progressive Anabaptist?

This is a place you can do it.

Please do not answer questions directed to Mainline/Mainstream or Progressive Anabaptists unless you are such a person.

[MaxPC]

What do you think your group will look like or be doing in 500 years?

[MaxPC]

Recently there have been incidents of the LGBT+ people trying to disrupt church services or hold sexual entertainment on church property. How would your fellowship respond to these disruptions and blatant perversions?

[MaxPC]

For those in the mainline or progressive branches of Anabaptism: How does your fellowship interpret the following verses?

Mark 9
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,[f] and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

[Bootstrap]

Recently there have been incidents of the LGBT+ people trying to disrupt church services or hold sexual entertainment on church property. How would your fellowship respond to these disruptions and blatant perversions?

I've never encountered either of these things happening in any church I am familiar with. If it ever looks like a real threat, I imagine we will come up with a strategy.

Until then, there are more important things to focus on.

[Bootstrap]

For those in the mainline or progressive branches of Anabaptism: How does your fellowship interpret the following verses?

Mark 9
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,[f] and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

It's a challenging verse for obvious reasons. Our fellowship doesn't have an official interpretation of each verse in the Bible. It's particularly challenging because another verse seems to say the opposite:

• Matthew 12:30 (NIV): "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
• Mark 9:40 (NIV): "For whoever is not against us is for us."

So any reasonable interpretation needs to take both into account. These verses aren't really central to our teaching. We do teach about the world versus the Kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount is fundamental to what we teach about the Kingdom of God.

[Grace]

Recently there have been incidents of the LGBT+ people trying to disrupt church services or hold sexual entertainment on church property. How would your fellowship respond to these disruptions and blatant perversions?

Kindly ask them to stop. Then offer them an invitation to come and share a meal with certain people in the congregation and have one to one conversations with them.

[Outsider]

It's a challenging verse for obvious reasons. Our fellowship doesn't have an official interpretation of each verse in the Bible. It's particularly challenging because another verse seems to say the opposite:

• Matthew 12:30 (NIV): "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
• Mark 9:40 (NIV): "For whoever is not against us is for us."

So any reasonable interpretation needs to take both into account. These verses aren't really central to our teaching. We do teach about the world versus the Kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount is fundamental to what we teach about the Kingdom of God.

This might be "bunny trailing" the conversation, IDK- but IMHO the "conflicting" examples address two different situations. In the first, Christ is addressing people who had accused him of doing his works by "Beelzebub".

30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

In the second example, the man is doing works in Christ's name. Just because he wasn't ordained by the Apostles didn't mean a whole lot to Jesus:

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

[Bootstrap]

This might be "bunny trailing" the conversation, IDK- but IMHO the "conflicting" examples address two different situations. In the first, Christ is addressing people who had accused him of doing his works by "Beelzebub".

Yes, I agree with your analysis.

I don't think different groups of Anabaptists have standard interpretations of these verses, though. I think this is an interesting question of biblical interpretation that we can all discuss together, no matter what group we are in.