New Songs, New Sermons, New Prayers, New Devotionals - Why?

[barnhart]

I think this is true. Some areas of offense are Penal Substantial Atonement, neo Gnostic "fly away" gospel, neo Gnostic intellectual consent gospel, and hyper individual gospel.

What do you mean by neo Gnostic "fly away" gospel and neo Gnostic intellectual consent gospel ?

I call them neo gnostic because they follow the gnostic pattern of division between the lower material world of sin and decay and the upper world of the spirit and perfection. I think the biblical gospel is heaven coming to earth, not God's people flying away, escaping to a place of bliss. Likewise the intellectual consent gospel isolates salvation in the mind or intellect. I think salvation interacts with the whole person.

[Ernie]

Why do Mennonites need to be on the cutting edge?

There is only a small percentage of Plain Mennonites who want to be on the cutting edge. Progressives by nature want to be cutting edge.

[AnthonyMartin]

(I also think that it's time to let the old 'sea-going themes' rest. The old songs that use these experiences are fine - I'm not saying that we need to avoid them. But the average person today does not have those experiences, and new points of contact with both culture and common experience can and should be utilized.)

I love the old sea-going songs and that theme. To me history is alive. A one minute context prior to singing them makes them meaningful to most I believe.

[Neto]

Why do Mennonites need to be on the cutting edge?

There is only a small percentage of Plain Mennonites who want to be on the cutting edge. Progressives by nature want to be cutting edge.

Then somehow we (my wife & I) fell into that vortex (without our desire or influence). Our congregation was 'plain' when we joined there 30 years ago. We just got old, and were left behind.

[JohnH]

Why do Mennonites need to be on the cutting edge?

There is only a small percentage of Plain Mennonites who want to be on the cutting edge. Progressives by nature want to be cutting edge.

Then somehow we (my wife & I) fell into that vortex (without our desire or influence). Our congregation was 'plain' when we joined there 30 years ago. We just got old, and were left behind.

A transitional Anabaptist congregation often has many members (in my experience, the majority) who don’t want to be liberal-progressive or gradually transition.

However, the entrenched culture makes it difficult to speak up against and actually block the progressive-minded, and eventually despite being a minority they will end up controlling the congregation’s direction.

In my view, the only way to fix this is to ensure they are sidelined and ignored fairly early, and to feel no guilt in doing so. (Remember that’s exactly what they’ll do to you.) If they don’t like it, they can leave - plenty of liberal churches exist.

[Neto]

There is only a small percentage of Plain Mennonites who want to be on the cutting edge. Progressives by nature want to be cutting edge.

Then somehow we (my wife & I) fell into that vortex (without our desire or influence). Our congregation was 'plain' when we joined there 30 years ago. We just got old, and were left behind.

A transitional Anabaptist congregation often has many members (in my experience, the majority) who don’t want to be liberal-progressive or gradually transition.

However, the entrenched culture makes it difficult to speak up against and actually block the progressive-minded, and eventually despite being a minority they will end up controlling the congregation’s direction.

In my view, the only way to fix this is to ensure they are sidelined and ignored fairly early, and to feel no guilt in doing so. (Remember that’s exactly what they’ll do to you.) If they don’t like it, they can leave - plenty of liberal churches exist.

Right. Like a family who came into the MB congregation back home (Collinsville, Oklahoma) back when I was in Jr High (or maybe even before that) from non-Mennonite background. They became a part of the core group of the congregation, but later on, when he said something about the changes in music there, the person said "Why don't you go someplace else?" His answer: "Because we got here first." But when you get old, that doesn't matter anymore.

[JohnH]

Long term, the Anabaptists who will still exist and be relevant are the ones who figure out how to avoid the transitional treadmill. It remains to be seen which people specifically those will be.