Leadership Confessions

Canadian Battling Systemic Murder, Mutilation Of African Albinos

Note: This article is a re-post of an informative and compelling article by Kim Hughes from http://samaritanmag.com/1163/canadian-battling-systemic-murder-mutilation-african-albinos

"It is no exaggeration to say that being born "albino" in the East African nation of Tanzania is one of the unluckiest fates life can hand you. It's also fair to say that Canadian activist and philanthropist Peter Ash has done more to assist Tanzanians with albinism though advocacy, education, funding and sheer resolve than anyone else on the planet. 

In most parts of the world, albinism is seen for what it is: a congenital disorder characterized by the absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to the absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin.

People with albinism ("albino" is considered derogatory, Ash says, and is slowly being replaced by this new term) are highly sensitive to sun, classified as legally blind (development of the optical system is highly dependent on the presence of melanin), but are otherwise correctly perceived as ordinary if striking-looking people with white hair and fair skin.

In Tanzania — thought to be the albinism's physiological ground zero where the rate of incidence is 10-times higher than in other countries, occurring in roughly one out of every 2,000 people — people with albinism (PWA) are perceived as inhuman: ghosts or the evil spawn of an African woman and a white man.

Often, a best-case scenario for a Tanzanian with albinism is discrimination or being ostracized, denied an education and treated as a freak. Worst case scenario? Murder or savage mutilation; the guerilla taking of body parts which command a dizzyingly high price (by African standards) on the black market.

Influential witch doctors, who hold powerful sway over the populace, claim that an "albino" arm or leg can be used to create a powerful potion that serves as a gateway to wealth and success. Against this malevolent backdrop, Tanzanians with albinism are sitting ducks for persecution unless they're lucky enough to find themselves in the crosshairs of Vancouver's Peter Ash and his Under the Same Sun (UTSS) charitable foundation, which he founded and serves as CEO.

The mission of UTSS is summed up thusly on its website: "Under the Same Sun is passionately committed to ending the deadly discrimination against albinos in Tanzania. Through education and advocacy we envision a day when the genetic condition of albinism will be understood, and people with albinism will take their rightful place in all aspects of Tanzanian society."

Explains Ash, "In a few cases, we deliberately chose [to use the word] 'albino' only because the public gives us a blank stare when we use 'person with albinism.'  They get 'albino' — so we have to start there."

Himself born with albinism, Ash first learned with horror of the harassment and abuse raining down on his Tanzanian brethren in 2008 through a BBC World Service report. Since then, the onetime preacher has dedicated himself to stopping the violence while promoting education.

If the work at times seems insurmountable, the forthright and determined Ash, who spoke to Samaritanmag on the eve of yet another trip to Tanzania (he averages two to three a year) seems like the man for the job.

Samaritanmag: So the BBC brought this issue to your attention?

Peter Ash: Yes. Being albino, I was well aware of the discrimination that was out there, how Hollywood characterizes albinos as evil.  What was news to me was the sale of body parts, the human trade in albinism. Through a lot of digging, I managed to track down the BBC correspondent who filed the report, Vicky Ntetema (who now serves as UTSS' executive director in Tanzania where the foundation maintains an office and a staff of about 20, half with albinism).  I'd never been to Africa before, but I bought a ticket to Tanzania, went over and just started exploring. I was at a point on my life where I had been very successful and had had a few careers -- including commercial real estate -- so I had more time on my hands and wanted to do something meaningful.

People with albinism are particularly sensitive to the sun
Photo credit: UTTS

Samaritanmag: How did African albinos react to seeing you -- a Caucasian with the same condition?

Peter Ash: They thought I was Swedish or Scandinavian or something, just another white man. They thought albinism only existed in their country.

Samaritanmag: Why is the incidence of albinism so high in Tanzania?

Peter Ash: Every genetic mutation began at a point in time somewhere in the world. An American geneticist who is a specialist in this area theorizes it began about 2,000 years ago in Tanzania or quite near there. If it's true, it's ironic: the genesis of albinism -- the Garden of Eden in you will -- has now become the exact opposite. The gene pool is more concentrated where it began. Remember, in that part of the world, people are living in poverty and they don't move around much. So there is high incidence of inter-marriage and the introduction of new gene pools is limited. So it gets passed on from family to family. But both father and mother have to carry the gene for it to manifest in a child.

Samaritanmag: How did Tanzanian albinos come to be so demonized?

Peter Ash: Depending on the study you read, between 50 and 90 percent of the Tanzanian population believe in witchcraft. And it's been that way forever. It's a part of daily life. Imagine a society without medical data. You have these two black parents with five black children and all of a sudden this other baby pops out that's whiter than most Caucasians. People think it must be a curse from the gods.

People with albinism are considered ghosts, non-human. The family believes they are cursed so the notion of selling that child and maybe even profiting are not so bad. Witch doctors play upon those beliefs, suggesting that a child is evil, and saying that if they can harvest a limb and mix it into a potion and a customer can use that potion to become rich or lucky or whatever, it will make it okay. An albino arm could fetch $3,000 or $4,000 U.S. A complete set of albino organs could fetch $75,000 to $200,000, a fortune where the average median income is $800 a year. If you get $4,000 for an albino arm, that's like five years' wages.

Samaritanmag: Is the Tanzanian government on board with your advocacy and with fighting discrimination against albinos?

Peter Ash: Publicly they are very supportive and they're not standing in our way, but there is much more they could be doing. This is a big story in Tanzania and it's one the government wishes would go away; they have become known as the land of albino killers rather than the land of Mount Kilimanjaro and safaris, which is obviously the image they'd prefer to cultivate.  So I am not a popular person and have been told that by high-level government officials. I am seen as tarnishing the image on Tanzania. Rather than blaming the killers, they are shooting the messenger.

Samaritanmag: Just how widespread is this?

Peter Ash: There have been 101 documented crimes against albinos since 2006 -- 78 murders and another 23 attacks, attempted murders or abductions -- and only five of those cases have resulted in convictions. The government could fast-track these cases through the court system, but they haven't. The death penalty is still on the books in Tanzania and the president, Jakaya Kikwete, publicly said in 2009 he would use it against anyone found guilty of murdering an albino. And yet no one found guilty and given the death penalty has been executed. We believe it would be a deterrent to the killings in this country.

Children with albinism enrolled in the UTSS Education Scholarship Fund - Photo credit: UTTS 

Samaritanmag: Those numbers - and that lack of governmental response - are very disturbing in a nation often held up as a model of African progress.

Peter Ash: You have to ask yourself, in a country like Tanzania, who has $4,000 to hand over for an arm or a set of albino body parts? It has to be high-placed and wealthy individuals, the elite and powerful. So what are the odds of those people being exposed? That's why the prosecutions haven't been happening. The only people going to jail are the witch doctors and the killers, not the consumers of the organs, not even in the five cases successfully prosecuted. Even under the threat of death the witch doctors won't reveal [the identity of] their customers. Why? They know to do so would bring death to their entire families.

Samaritanmag: So what's the chief mandate of your foundation, Under the Same Sun?

Peter Ash: Education is our biggest focus and students are our biggest weapon against discrimination. Fast-forward 10 or 15 years; if we have students who are the first in their class, getting jobs and leading in their communities, it will be harder for the country to discriminate against people with albinism. Tanzanian albinos will ultimately win the war for themselves.

Samaritanmag: Where do you gather most of your funding from?

Peter Ash: Our website, www.underthesamesun.com, generates a fair bit especially when there's a media story about this issue. Plus there's word of mouth. We have a fundraising gala in Vancouver every year and we attract some corporate donors. But about 85 percent of the funding comes from me and my family. Hopefully, over the next five years, that ratio will shift to 60/40 coming from the public and coming from us. We want to expand and do more. We have 300 kids in school right now as part of our Education Scholarship Fund program and we'd love to double that number.

Samaritanmag: Do you see a time when UTSS will need to close its doors because this issue will have been resolved?

Peter Ash: Not in my lifetime. This discrimination is deep-seated. It's going to take years. Still, I have a dream that people with albinism will take their rightful place in Tanzanian society. One day."

 

For regular readers of this space, I'm off today to Tanzania in East Africa. My hope is to be able to post some thoughts but it will be highly dependent on what I am told are sketchy internet connections in the areas we will be visiting.

For more info on the work I am connected with, visit www.underthesamesun.com .

Rethinking the Chess Board: Developing a Culture of Reflection

It came as a complete shock to almost everyone. In 2005, a relatively obscure Asian technology company named Lenovo bought North American computing giant IBM’s PC division and the ThinkPad brand to become the second largest maker of personal computers in the world. The Chinese media hailed it as a coup, celebrating that “a snake had swallowed an elephant.”

But Lenovo’s rise to a global technology company shouldn’t have surprised anyone. A look inside their corporate culture reveals a clear philosophy and approach to leadership health that we, in the church, could learn from as we survey the state of the pastorate in our nation. The world of technology, not unlike much of vocational ministry, happens at a frenetic pace. Development and growth cycles become ever shorter. Leadership development challenges abound. There’s pressure from above, questions from beneath, and emotional and relational tensions that inevitably bubble to the surface of our lives as we move forward in mission fulfillment. For those charged with spiritual leadership, health and vitality can grow only as we root our lives in the disciplines of evaluation, reflection, and rest.

Replaying the chess board
One of the elements of corporate culture that makes Lenovo so lithe is its commitment not only to quick adaptation, but also to a practice known as fu pan. In English, it means “replaying the chess board.” The idea is to step back and assess your last move with the hope of improving next time. In ministry, many organizations and personality types move so quickly or non-reflectively that we don’t apply rigorous evaluation to anything. Volunteer or staff assessments? Who has time for that! Evaluation of the weekend gatherings? Where would I fit that into my calendar? The idea behind assessment in our ministry isn’t necessarily to critique it, but to evaluate carefully and intelligently how our actions and reactions as leaders fit into the bigger picture of pastoral and organizational health. The leaders at Lenovo rigorously practice fu pan because they understand that sometimes “the most dangerous thing is to be successful. You then think every decision is the right one. That’s why you have to review what you do.” When was the last time your church conducted a thorough and edifying pastoral review process? When was the last time you as a pastoral leader slowed down enough to ask yourself how other people experience your leadership? If it’s been a while, perhaps it’s time to step back for a season and have a look again at the chess board.

Is your bucket full?
Part of the purpose of stepping back from the fray is to develop rhythms that replenish your soul as a leader. I’m oriented toward activism, so disciplines like solitude and silence are difficult for me. But knowing how to appropriately and regularly step out of the day-to-day flow of ministry in order to be refreshed and recharged has been a life-giving experiment for me. Beyond the weekly Sabbath, our associate pastor and I take a day out of the office each month to pray and spend time outdoors in creation. The heart of these times is the practice of disciplined reflection. The fourth-century bishop of Milan, Ambrose, poignantly asked in his Duties of the Clergy, “Am I to suppose that he is fit to give me advice who never takes it for himself, or am I to believe that he has time to give to me when he has none for himself?... How can a person have time for giving counsel who has none for quiet?” As a leader or ministry team, when was the last time you got away from the noise of ministry to be with Jesus? Put another way, does your life look like that of a person who wants to hear from God?

Extended sabbaticals
More lengthy times of sabbatical give pastors an opportunity to recharge and reflect in profound and holistic ways. For me, I found the three months I took last summer helped me focus my passion and actions, and to graciously say “no” to things that didn’t fit with my gifts or calling in this season of life. In his helpful book The Emotionally Healthy Church, pastor Peter Scazzero argues that “embracing our God-given limits is at the core of our calling…as spiritual leaders. When we don’t respect God’s limits in our lives, we will often find ourselves overextended, stressed, and exhausted.” Perhaps that’s why Paul reminds church leaders in Ephesus of this very thing during his final visit with them: “Keep watch over yourselves” (Acts 20:28). Twinned with doctrinal purity, the integrity and health of their lives is at the heart of their job description as spiritual leaders. The state of their moral, emotional, and spiritual lives is so important that Paul repeats this instruction to Timothy as he invites him to “watch your life…closely” (1 Timothy 4:16). In order to diligently ask these questions, however, we must step away from both the successes and frustrations of our week-to-week responsibilities and enjoy time of reflection, rest, and reconnection with our Heavenly Father (see, for example, Jesus’ practice in Mark 1:35 and many other places). Who knows, if we step back from the chess board, we may just begin to see clearly enough to make our next move.

(Note: This article appears in the May 2012 issue of the MB Herald)

What M&M Meetings Can Teach Us About Leadership

Most people know Dr. Sanjay Gupta from his media work as the chief medical correspondent for CNN and a special correspondent for CBS.  He is often called upon to make complex things simple and simple things complex for a global TV audience.  He is also a practicing neurosurgeon, on the faculty of the Emory University School of Medicine (operating Mondays and every other Friday) and in addition to his two best-selling books of health advice, he can add one more thing to his CV: successful novelist.  

Dr. Gupta has just penned his first novel, set at  fictional Chelsea General, where doctors meet for a weekly morbidity and mortality (M&M) meetings.  Drawn from his own notes over 20 years of attending these sessions, he wanted people to realize that doctors need to step back and analyze their own mistakes in order to not make them again.  In a recent interview about the book in Macleans, Dr. Gupta notes the following:

"Medicine moves forward because people learn form their mistakes, that that means that mistakes happen.  But the worst crime of all would be that it continues to happen because no one learned from it.  What I am always struck by is when something has gone wrong and when everyone sort of knows that a mistake has happened but hardly ever does anyone really have a completely candid meeting, not to be punitive, but to hold each other accountable and to say `Look, can we all agree that this was a mistake?  And can we all figure out a way not to let that happen again?'  I think that if we did that, if we applied what we know as surgeons and from M&M's to all sorts of different facets of our society, I just think things would run so much better, and there wouldn't be so much dabbling around the edges with regard to these issues" (Interview, Macleans, Apr 23, 2012, p. 16).

Oftentimes organizations and leaders move with such speed and such a focus on the future, they don't have time for assessment (more on that in another post and forthcoming article).  But the real tragedy occurs when, for fear of looking weak or admitting to doing something foolish or letting others know that they made the wrong call, a leader avoids accountability altogether.  

Avoiding medical malpractice lawsuits is understandable and I am certainly not advocating making the contents of your M&M meetings public knowledge or hanging someone out to dry for an innocent mistake.  What I am advocating, however, is that I believe it is one of the primary jobs of a leader to ensure that they take responsibility for their own actions and the actions of those whom they lead.  If they never present at or worse, never call an M&M meeting, they will miss the learning that can only come with you dissect the cadaver - both metaphorically and sometimes, even physically. 

On Grief and Consolation

Having lost my paternal grandfather at age 91 this past month, quotes about grief and loss are catching my eye these days.  Theologian and poet of the 17th and 18th centuries, Francois Fenelon wrote "We must have faith during the period of our grief.  We think that our afflictions will be greater than we can bear, but we do not know the strength of our hearts, nor the power of God.  He knows all.  He knows every folding of the heart and also the extent of sorrow that he inflicts.  What we think will overwhelm us entirely only subdues and conquers our pride.  Our renewed spirit rises from its subjugation with a celestial strength and consolation" (qtd in Common Prayer, 246).

What are you facing this season of life?  Perhaps you will come to find a new depth and level of strength not only in your own heart, but also in the power and presence of Almighy God. 

Seven Stanzas for Easter

In preparing for Easter weekend, I was deeply struck and moved by the vivid p0ery of John Updike.  Read it aloud slowly and let the gravity and mystery that we celebrate sink in a little deeper...

Make no mistake: if He rose at all
it was as His body;
if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules
reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,
each soft Spring recurrent;
it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled
eyes of the eleven apostles;
it was as His flesh: ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes,
the same valved heart
that–pierced–died, withered, paused, and then
regathered out of enduring Might
new strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
analogy, sidestepping, transcendence;
making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the
faded credulity of earlier ages:
let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché,
not a stone in a story,
but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow
grinding of time will eclipse for each of us
the wide light of day.

And if we will have an angel at the tomb,
make it a real angel,
weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair,
opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen
spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are
embarrassed by the miracle,
and crushed by remonstrance.

—John Updike, “Seven Stanzas At Easter,” (Telephone Poles and Other Poems, 1964)

What ABC's New TV Show 'GCB' Can Teach Us About Ourselves

Christians are notoriously poor at being able to laugh at ourselves.  When the media portrays us, it usually does so with extreme caricature which we then get all huffy about and then both parties end up missing each other in the conversation.  

That's partially why I was so intrigued to watch the pilot of ABC's new TV show last night "GCB".  Originally named "Good Christian Bitches" (after the book of the same name by author Kim Gatlin), then tamed down after protest to "Good Christian Belles" and then finally truncated to GCB, the show follows the lives of socialites in Dallas and is a mix of Desperate Housewives, the original Dallas (think big hair and lots of plastic surgery jokes), and High School musical - amongst other things.  

The show features a group of girls who went to high school together and who are conspiring to get their revenge on the mean girl who has come back to Dallas from California after her life has fallen apart.  Author Margaret Fienberg makes a compelling observation on CNN's BeliefNet blog:  

“GCB” acts as a mirror as to how Christians are often perceived, which is to say none-too-positively. But the “GCB” caricature doesn't represent the vast majority of Christians, who find themselves in generous, kindhearted congregations that serve their communities, from providing food and shelter for those displaced by recent natural disasters to providing clean water and much-needed aid around the world.

Still, “GCB” challenges every Christian – including me – to consider our own faith journey and if our talk really matches our walk. When do we fall prey to petty, gossipy, vindictive attitudes and actions?"

If GCB can keep it out of the gutter in terms of content (it may already have lost that game) and weave into the plot more deeply nuanced questions of faith and forgiveness, it has the potential to hold a mirror up for Christians to ask good questions about our own lives and how our actions are perceived by our culture.  If it can't walk this fine line, then GCB likely will go the way of Desperate Housewives. 

When a Leader Faces Doubts

It just seemed to wonderful and impossible to be true.  Too big of a promise to actually and literally come to pass.  Listen to the conversation between Moses and God in Numbers 11:21-23.

But Moses responded to the LORD, “There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me,and yet you say, ‘I will give them meat for a whole month!’
22 Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?”
23 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!” 

Sure Moses could believe God for a burning bush, for turning entire river systems into blood, for billions of crop devouring insects, for a walk-way through the sea, for water from rocks and 6 days a week of fresh bread (manna) from heaven, but believing God for meat for a month for a million people in the middle of the dessert?!... that was crazy talk! 

But I love God's response.  He doesn't get angry at Moses for his complaint or his lack of faith.  He simply reminds Moses of their shared history.  That if God's power could release 1 million indentured slaves from the world's most powerful nation and if He could provide for them thus far on their desert journey, then meat for a month would not be a problem.  The story ends with deep levels of irony and almost comedy as the people get what the want, and, as predicted, they aren't satisfied (the place ends up getting named "Graves of Gluttony" in Numbers 11:34)

What about you?  Where have doubts and fear crept into your heart and mind?  Remind yourself of God's faithfulness and His power in your life in the past and wait and see whether or not His promise for today and tomorrow will come true!

Navigating the Rapids: A Conversation About the [sometimes choppy] waters of Evangelical Anabaptism

Since the 1970s, Mennonite Brethren have claimed the unusual title of evangelical Anabaptists. Through the decades, we’ve found ways to blend two broad theological streams into one current of church ministry and life. Herald editor Laura Kalmar had an email conversation with Brad Sumner, pastor of Jericho Ridge Community Church in Langley, B.C., and Gil Dueck, instructor in theology at Bethany College in Hepburn, Saskatchewan, to discuss the joys and challenges of our Mennonite Brethren “dual identity.”

For some readers, the terms “evangelical” and “Anabaptist” may be unfamiliar. How would you define them? 

Brad: Part of the challenge we face as evangelical Anabaptists is the fluidity of both terms. Each one brings with it a weight of history stretching back more than a century, as well as a vibrant global conversation that has implications far beyond the borders of our nation. Having said that, I see “evangelical” drawing meaning from the four priorities suggested by British Baptist historian David Bebbington: “conversionism, the belief that lives need to be changed; activism, the expression of the gospel in effort; biblicism, a particular regard for the Bible; and what may be called crucicentrism, a stress upon the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.” 

Anabaptism tends toward a specific subset of core convictions. As historian Harold Bender explains, it includes things like “discipleship, the church as a voluntary and separated brotherhood, and love and nonresistance in all relationships.”   

Gil: I see the term “evangelical” as consensus (mostly among conservative Protestants) around a high view of the Bible, an emphasis on conversion and individual piety, and a concern for mission and evangelism. Of course, none of these emphases are unique to evangelicalism – it’s the combination that is distinctive. Yet, there’s such an incredible range of perspectives that claim to be evangelical, I sometimes wonder if the term is useful.  

I see “Anabaptist” as an approach to the Christian faith that has historically emphasized following Jesus, love of enemies, voluntary and disciplined church membership, and a tendency toward separation from the wider culture. More recently, the word has taken on a few other connotations, due in part to contemporary writers like Stuart Murray (The Naked Anabaptist). This newer strain of Anabaptism tends to be associated with commitments to peace, social justice, and environmental concerns as contemporary expressions of discipleship.  

Do you think people in our church pews find these terms helpful? Do labels even matter anymore?

Gil: Among my students, there’s little recognition of either word. Many of them have little interest in, or patience for denominational labels – they prefer a “big-tent” approach to Christian identity. The challenge is to introduce terms like “evangelical” and “Anabaptist” in ways that enable students to think well about the real and significant differences that do exist between Christians, while avoiding the conflict that created “denomination fatigue” in the first place.  

On a personal level, I am sometimes a bit hesitant when I’m asked to identify with these labels because I never quite know what people think they refer to. Many associate “evangelical” with certain stock images of American fundamentalism that I don’t want to endorse. Conversely, I think some associate “Anabaptist” with a brand of social activism that’s indistinguishable from progressive liberal democratic sensibilities. Both terms are vulnerable to serious and persistent distortions.  

Yet, I believe that Anabaptism is a term worth spending the energy in clarifying. At times, I fear that just when many outside the church are becoming open to the Anabaptist perspective, we as MBs are walking away from it. In a secular, post-Christian context like ours, I think Anabaptism offers a way forward that evangelicism – with all its historical and political baggage – does not.

Brad: The reality is both terms are muddled or diluted in the minds of many people. There’s no “pure” strain of Canadian evangelicalism that hasn’t been influenced – both for good and ill – by our friends to the south, or by our heritage from across the Atlantic. Alternatively, the term “Anabaptist” has been highlighted recently by popular authors like Brian McLaren and Jim Belcher. 

But both writers seem to be dealing with a superficial caricature of Anabaptism. In that sense, they’re reflective of many people I encounter who claim aspects of evangelicalism or Anabaptism convenient to their own personal experiences and agendas, without acknowledging the messier parts of our cultural history and theological development.  

Canadian MBs are like a couple who gets married and learns they’ll have to pull out different strands from each of their families of origin to produce a new set of traditions and practices to define who they are. As a denomination, I think we’re still in the process of doing that. It’s a profoundly healthy and vibrant conversation!    

We hear talk about how evangelicals are only interested in getting people to pray the “sinner’s prayer,” and Anabaptists are only interested in social justice. Are the two terms really such polar opposites? Or are there areas of overlap – a beautiful synergy between the two?

Brad: Fundamentally, I don’t believe our dual identity is a deficit, or a case of conflicted or warring dispositions.  Rather, I think it’s a fusion of the whole church taking the whole gospel for the whole person to the whole world. It positions us uniquely in our largely post-Christian world to engage in mission like never before.

Gil: One of the major problems with our terminology is the way it sets up false tensions – the whole evangelism vs. social justice debate, for example. The idea that these are mutually exclusive practices is simply foreign to the Bible. 

This is where I’m increasingly encouraged in my work with young adults. There’s little awareness of this debate among the younger generation, and very little interest in it when it is described. For them, Jesus was committed to both – calling people to personal faith in him, as well as responding with compassion to the needs he encountered. Perhaps those who find the separation of these things bizarre are demonstrating an evangelical Anabaptist approach without even knowing it.

So what does it look like – practically – to be evangelical Anabaptists? How does our identity contribute to our mission in the world?

Gil: This is a tough question, mainly because it seems to be a rare thing to find a person or community that offers a uniquely evangelical Anabaptist approach to mission. The two “sides” often get played off against each other. Either you’re passionate about winning souls for Christ or you’re interested in meeting physical needs and alleviating suffering.  We’re so prone to filter things through the “left-right” spectrum, we can hardly conceive of the possibilitythere might be other ways of seeing things. To me, mission is one of the crucial areas in which evangelical and Anabaptist perspectives need each other.

Brad: In terms of practical outworking, I think of my friends who are dual citizens. The positive element of any shared identity is always the ease of movement it creates, and the capacity to identify with a multiplicity of cultural environments. For Mennonite Brethren, this means we can be comfortable in both Canadian evangelical as well as global Anabaptist families. 

But neither explains the totality of who we are. A dual citizen has something unique to share with each of their “home” cultures: the gift of perspective. As Mennonite Brethren, this sense of duality, if leveraged properly, could allow us to make a stronger critique of some of our own cultural and historical blind spots. It might also allow us to see more clearly the possibilities for future ministry effectiveness that carry less of the hurts, habits, and hang-ups of both our “home” cultures.  

So, the first call is for a deeper level of self-awareness. If we don’t know who we are, we’ll have difficulty inviting people to join us on a journey of discipleship.

Our churches look so different from each other! Why is that? Is there anything we hold in common? For example, if I visited both Willingdon Church in Vancouver and Lendrum MB Church in Edmonton, I may think they belonged to two separate denominations.

Brad: Because of our unique histories and geographies and leadership influences, each local church will manifest a different element of our evangelical Anabaptist DNA. But this lack of homogeneity isn’t a bad thing. After all, my children certainly don’t look, sound, think, or act alike, even though they’re part of the same family. We’re bound together by a commitment to our values and sense of mission. Part of this commitment involves making time for face-to-face relationships, as well as believing the best about each other.    

Gil: I, too, have noted the incredible diversity that exists among our churches. This diversity begs the question: What actually is it that holds these congregations together? Shared history? The relationships that exist within the denomination? The ministries or programs we collectively support?   

It would be hard to make the case that all MBs rally around the evangelical Anabaptist flag at a theological level. I’m sure there are a number of MBs who value the “creative tension” represented by these two terms – who believe these two ideals need each other in order to correct potential imbalances inherent within the other. 

But in my experience, there are also many MBs who prioritize one of the two terms, while patiently (or impatiently!) tolerating the other. As Brad said, our diversity isn’t a bad thing. But we can’t impose unity where it doesn’t exist. If the goal is unity within diversity, we have to figure out where that unity lies.

Not many other denominations have a dual identity. With that in mind, where have we succeeded and what mistakes have we made?

Brad: We’ve made the common Canadian mistake of defining ourselves but what we are not as opposed to who we are. We’ve drunk deeply from other streams of tradition and practice without critical reflection on the unintended consequences of unfiltered adoption.

We’ve also seen profound benefits! God has allowed us significant witness and mission in many parts of our country, and a voice that can speak with respect on many issues. Here in Langley, for example, MB churches work comfortably with the Salvation Army on issues of homelessness, and with mainline churches on hospital chaplaincy. 

My perception is that many of our MB churches across the country share a sense of partnership with other Christians to reach their city and our nation for Christ.  In Vancouver, our church planting network functions as a key resource and collegial hub for other denominations. In Ontario, some of our new church plants are intentionally interdenominational. 

Perhaps this is our unique strength: our history and experience as “dual citizens” have given us the opportunity to lead with humility, to partner with a gracious spirit, and to resource and support where the Spirit is at work in other parts of the Anabaptist and 
evangelical worlds.    

Gil: The danger of a dual or “blended” identity is that we may lose a sense of connection to what actually produced that identity. And because one half of our identity is the massive entity called (mainly American) evangelicalism, we’re at risk of borrowing so heavily from these influences that the Anabaptist half of our identity gets diluted. Perhaps the old moniker “MB=Mostly Baptist” is closer to the truth than we care to admit. 

As our executive director, Willy Reimer, observed at the recent study conference, we’re sometimes too influenced by north-south relationships and not enough by east-west relationships.  

Despite these challenges, we’ve seen many successes. Our dual identity has definitely pushed us into wider circles of influence than would have been possible otherwise. We’re a community that demonstrates a remarkable ability to form partnerships across the denominational spectrum. This is, no doubt, part of our evangelical heritage since evangelicalism isn’t a denomination, but a coalition focused on cooperative efforts in mission. This has been one of the main benefits of our blended identity – we’ve been forced out of our historical isolationism and into a posture of cooperation with other Christian communities

The Danger of Making Your Experiences Fit Reality

I love the book of Job.  To me, part of the fun in reading it is assessing what part of the various speeches are true and square with God's picture of reality and what parts are vain or idle words (of which all parties are guilty at points).  That's why Job 21 is so intriguing to me.  Job's friends have spent the better part of their speeches to date building a case that the wicked do not proposer and that everything they have will be riped painfully from them as God's judgement on their behaviour.

But good ol' Job looks around and notes that this isn't usually true. He notes that the wicked "spend their days in prosperity, then go down to the grave in peace. And yet they say to God, ‘Go away. We want no part of you and your ways. Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’" (Job 21:13-15).  Job's assessment of the situation seems fairly realistic and level-headed to me.  People with no regard for God, both then and now, often do fine at business, parenting, finance, marriage and life in general.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  The prosperity gospel is alive and well.  

But poor Job's friends can't resist an opportunity to moralize, so they do something that is all to common then and now: they find selective stories that fit their worldview and they pontificate and over-spiritualize them ad nausea.  What they fail to realize, however, is that their selectivity doesn't square with the overall data of experience.  Job reminds them “Look, I know what you’re thinking. I know the schemes you plot against me. You will tell me of rich and wicked people whose houses have vanished because of their sins. But ask those who have been around, and they will tell you the truth. Evil people are spared in times of calamity and are allowed to escape disaster. No one criticizes them openly or pays them back for what they have done." (21:27-31).   His friends have conveniently ignored any examples that don't fit their worldview or make their point effectively.  

So next time you go to tell as story as an illustration of a point you are making, you might want to ask yourself if you have a sneaky habit of finding and sharing only blogs or tweets or experiences that agree with your pre-formed opinions. Or do you genuinely allow the aggregate and long-term data around the issue to speak for itself?  If you don't you might be making your experiences into a reality that doesn't exist!