Jeff Altweg wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2026 10:46 pm
First of all ,they refer to themselves ,not as Holdemans but as "Church of God, in Christ, Mennonite" ,the last was added during WW2 in the 1940's....I guess I would consider their actions,and rules , as the attributes of a cult, pure and simple, perhaps similar to Jehovah"s Witness folks.
They claim to believe they are the only one and true Church , and the considerable strife and infightings among them is alarming indeed , not good at all , but they can sing , beautiful harmony ,
As a Holdeman I can assure you many Holdemans refer to their own church as the Holdemans.
Holdeman Mennonite Church isn’t Holdeman though.
The Kent Holdeman family is a family that goes around playing drums, electric guitar, and singing gospel songs. They are former Holdemans but are also still Holdemans.
Jeff Altweg wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2026 10:46 pm
First of all ,they refer to themselves ,not as Holdemans but as "Church of God, in Christ, Mennonite" ,the last was added during WW2 in the 1940's....I guess I would consider their actions,and rules , as the attributes of a cult, pure and simple, perhaps similar to Jehovah"s Witness folks.
They claim to believe they are the only one and true Church , and the considerable strife and infightings among them is alarming indeed , not good at all , but they can sing , beautiful harmony ,
The “paneling” process of a few years ago are icing on that cake.
Jeff Altweg wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2026 10:46 pm
First of all ,they refer to themselves ,not as Holdemans but as "Church of God, in Christ, Mennonite" ,the last was added during WW2 in the 1940's....I guess I would consider their actions,and rules , as the attributes of a cult, pure and simple, perhaps similar to Jehovah"s Witness folks.
They claim to believe they are the only one and true Church , and the considerable strife and infightings among them is alarming indeed , not good at all , but they can sing , beautiful harmony ,
The “paneling” process of a few years ago are icing on that cake.
There have been no panels in my lifetime, and I'm 44.
and the considerable strife and infightings among them is alarming indeed
What, exactly, is this? The Holdemans have yet to have a church split.
Some people decide to leave the group, just like people leave other Anabaptist affiliations. A common reason is because someone decides they want to believe in some different doctrines that become very important to them. The most common reason people leave though is because they just aren't really interested in the Christian faith any longer and not interested in a plain Anabaptist lifestyle at all. (Some remain nominally Christian, e.g. they might post a Bible verse reference on their WhatsApp.)
Jeff Altweg wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2026 10:46 pm
First of all ,they refer to themselves ,not as Holdemans but as "Church of God, in Christ, Mennonite" ,the last was added during WW2 in the 1940's....I guess I would consider their actions,and rules , as the attributes of a cult, pure and simple, perhaps similar to Jehovah"s Witness folks.
They claim to believe they are the only one and true Church , and the considerable strife and infightings among them is alarming indeed , not good at all , but they can sing , beautiful harmony ,
The “paneling” process of a few years ago are icing on that cake.
There have been no panels in my lifetime, and I'm 44.
and the considerable strife and infightings among them is alarming indeed
What, exactly, is this? The Holdemans have yet to have a church split.
Some people decide to leave the group, just like people leave other Anabaptist affiliations. A common reason is because someone decides they want to believe in some different doctrines that become very important to them. The most common reason people leave though is because they just aren't really interested in the Christian faith any longer and not interested in a plain Anabaptist lifestyle at all. (Some remain nominally Christian, e.g. they might post a Bible verse reference on their WhatsApp.)
R7ehr wrote: ↑Thu May 07, 2026 12:03 am
What is paneling, or a panel?
Something popular in basements in the 70s.
Evasiveness does not improve credibility.
Let’s try this, then: something that happened in 1974 (52 years ago) where members who were chronically disobedient to basic church doctrines an practice such as the head covering, not having a TV in the home, charging interest and so on were asked to explain their actions and repent of doing so by a travelling band of ministers who were not local.
Most chose to do so, but some did not. Some were quite comfortable that they had leverage such as wealthy businesses, family connections, or large loans made to local ministers that effectively excused them from following church rules.
It is the same thing that happened in eg the Lancaster Conference in the 70s, except that the conservatives retained the institution and the liberals got pushed out.
On difference might be no one in Lancaster conference was forced to verbally acknowledge that the Church of God in Christ Mennonite is the only true church and all others are false.
... members who were chronically disobedient to basic church doctrines an[d] practice ... were asked to explain their actions and repent of doing so by a travelling band of ministers who were not local.
Sounds more like medieval Catholicism than anything from historic Anabaptist practice.