USA > Pennsylvania > Change and challenge: a history of the Church of the Brethren in the southern district of Pennsylvania, 1940-1972 > Part 4
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"The function of the Standing Committee of our Annual Confer- ence has been and is a very important one, but I warn you at the begin- ning it does involve work-and hard work! There are rewards, how- ever, and you will find them as well. The particular assignment I would like to make immediately is this one: At the opening session of the conference, we share with the delegate body our report on The State of the Church'. You will have to help us here by telling us what is and what is not happening in your district and in the churches of your area."9
For many years the time and place of the meeting of the conference was under study. Originally, Annual Meetings were subject to the call of congregations Later, state districts and regions were accorded the honor of entertaining these sessions. In 1940, the brotherhood was divided into zones. Since there were five zones, a conference came to a zone once every five years. In more recent times, the number of brotherhood zones has been reduced to three.
No Annual Meeting has been held in the Southern District since 1912. In fact, the last conference held in the Commonwealth was at Huntingdon in 1944 in the midst of World War II. In the history of recorded confer- ences, seventeen have been conducted in the Southern District (1779-1912). Seven of these were in York County; four were held in Franklin County; three were in Cumberland County; two were in Juniata County; and one was held in Adams County.10
When the Annual Conference last met in the Southern District, it convened at York (1912). At this meeting, the question was raised con- cerning meetings held in fair grounds or in theaters. A request came to locate the Annual Meetings on grounds dedicated to religious assemblies or in cities where auditoriums with good acoustical properties were avail- able.
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"The shifting of the meeting places of the Annual Conference from barns to city and auditorium has been indicative of the shift of our population toward the small town and the city."11
The 1968 report on the Nature and Organization of the Annual Con- ference suggested four major purposes for the Conference: 1) .- To imple- ment the life, work and mission of the church in the world; 2) .- To legis- late on important issues to further this purpose; 3) .- To inform the delegates and participants on issues before the church; and 4) .- To provide opportunity for inspiration and fellowship.12
Over the past three decades the Annual Conferences have wrestled with four major areas of the church's life. These may be summarized under the word "Reorganization", "Identity", "Involvement" and "Change." The fact that most of these concerns arose from queries would seem to suggest that these have also been problems for local congregations as well.
REORGANIZATION
The question of the reorganization of the church bodies at all levels actually arose from problems related to Home Missions. The financial distresses of many churches during the depression years and the need for uniform practices in support of these churches brought forth a query from Virginia. The Harrisonburg Church requested a study to coordinate the denomination's Home Missions efforts. A committee of three was appointed to undertake the work. This committee was convinced that the total program of the church needed to be studied. In 1943, the Har- risonburg Church submitted a second query for 'the simplification and inte- gration of the overall organization of our church".13 A Committee of fifteen spent several years in surveying the total church organization of the Church of the Brethren.
The Committee of Fifteen presented its report with a plan to reorgan- ize the church's life from the brotherhood level to the congregational level. A new General Brotherhood Board, composed of commissions, was legally instituted on March 1, 1947. The brotherhood was divided into regions and districts were entrusted to District Boards. An Elders' Body func- tioned in an advisory capacity to the District Board and the conference. This plan of organization, finally adopted in 1948, recommended congrega- tional reorganization. Such reorganization did not come as a mandate but purely as a suggestion. Many district churches responded by altering the pattern of their church organization to conform to that of the brother- hood.
As a result of the report by the Committee of Fifteen, the field pro- gram of the Church of the Brethren was inaugurated by the employment of Regional Secretaries. In 1960, the Annual Conference adopted a proposal for the gradual reorganization of the brotherhood into eighteen administrative districts by the year 1970. The number of districts was actually reduced to thirty in 1967 and to twenty-four in 1971. Some people think the church spent too much time in organization. This atti- tude was reflected in the moderator's address of DeWitt L. Miller (1964) when he told the delegates the basic needs of the Brethren are "more theological than moral, more spiritual than organizational."
IDENTITY
In the past three decades, the Brethren have been perplexed by the problem of their own identity. Repeatedly members of the church have discussed the "Brethren image". The term "identity crisis" was coined in 1962 to describe the personal problems youth were having in their youth
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culture with self-understanding.14 This term has also been ascribed to institutions as they search for meaningful mission to a changing world.
The name "Church of the Brethren" was officially adopted by the denomination at its Des Moines Conference in 1908. At that time the church decided to eliminate the term "German Baptist" from its name inasmuch as the denomination was no longer distinguished by its language. When the brotherhood returned fifty years later to Des Moines to observe its 250th anniversary, "being Brethren" had taken on new meanings. The church became aware that it was only a segment of the Church of Christ and that it must begin to find its mission in the universal church.
Finding a name and a mission became a matter of basic honesty. No longer could the denomination be properly known as "the plain church" or "the Dunker sect". Nor was it proper to identify some Brethren as "the little church". A strong Brethren Service program during and following World War II established the Brethren as a service denom- ination. A reporter for an Orlando (Florida) newspaper in 1947 described the denomination as a people who have "been engaged since 1940 in an all-out relief and rehabilitation effort 'round the world." When the delegates met in the Colorado Springs Conference, they deliberated on how a church with distinctive practices and beliefs and a strong loyalty to the past could speak to the present age.
A query before the 1956 conference asked for a study of the theological implications of the church's program.15 A study committee recommended a special conference on The Nature and Function of the Church. (1957). When delegates heard the recommendation, some feared lest any such theological study might break the Brethren precedent of "no creed in religion". Others responded that there are theological implications in what the church does and that program determines theology more than theology determines program.
The 1957 report suggested that formal statements and pronouncements on public issues should be given a theological base. The Brethren Service Committee responded with a classic statement containing Biblical and theological perspectives (1959). A paper on anointing placed this tradi- toinal service in a theological setting (1963). Boards and committees at the brotherhood and district levels were encouraged to place their goals and programs in terms of theological meanings.16 The Southern District joined with the Eastern and the North Atlantic Districts in theological discussion groups in Harrisburg, Elizabethtown and Huntingdon. All of these measures were meant to assist the church in discovering its own theology.
There is a mistaken assumption among Brethren that the current stress on theology is new. In the history of the Church of the Brethren much stress has been given to theology. The Gospel Visitor of Henry Kurtz is chequered with doctrinal discussions. Brethren largely adopted the core of beliefs used by Evangelical Protestants of the nineteenth century. In the present period of questioning and the rise of rival philosophies, there has been a revival of theological concern throughout the Protestant world. Indeed, one competent theologian estimated that this period of creativity in theology can only find its match by returning to the sixteenth century.17 The Church of the Brethren has been seeking to renew the church by returning to a clarification of its own faith and to a fresh appreciation of the nature and mission of the church in the world.
It became apparent from the numerous discussions and meetings that "there was no unanimity of opinion as to where we stand in the various Christian traditions".18 The differences which often arise between Brethren center in the question of the mission of the church. The differ-
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ences pivot on such questions as the nature of the message which the church has to deliver, and what attitude it should adopt and what action it should take in a world that is facing change at disconcerting speed.
The denomination is presently engaged in bouts between those who wish to stress the oneness of Christians around the world and those who wish to preserve the Christianity which has been traditionally identified as "Brethrenism". In his moderator's address, "Let Us Break Bread To- gether" (1960), Edward K. Ziegler expressed the view of those who wish to be part of the universal church. What supremely matters, in this view, is that Christianity shall be expressed in the Kingdom of God and not through independent church groups.
"If this means that we lose our personal, even our denominational life that it may be part of the larger life of Christ's Church-so be it." This was the first time such a view was openly expressed at an Annual Conference.
There are others who believe the future of the church lies in merging with other groups. One of the resolutions of the 1951 conference pro- claimed:
"The Dunker sect has become a denomination, its separation having been transfigured into an ecumenical concern for the oneness of all believers in Christ."19
Those who held to this view met opposition when the Annual Conference voted down the recommendation to join with the Consultation on Church Union (COCU).
Another point of view distrusts the institutional church. Followers of this position seek to promote the Church as an agent of change in society. The belief exists that people have glorified the institutional church, enforced conformity, and have lost redemptive salt and light. The emphasis for these Brethren is on less formal and less organized Christian forms. Dale W. Brown, the 1972 Annual Conference moderator, observed on one occasion that the church's unity must be found in mission and koinonia and not in bureaucratic structures.20
Other members have been designated Neo-Brethren. They believe the denomination dare not lose its distinctive values-values not found in other denominations. A booklet entitled, Why Brethren?' by Wayne Zunkel, calls for a return to an emphasis on the simple life, tolerance, peace witness and the absolute love ethic. These Brethren believe such honored practices and ideals of the past can be transposed into valid use for today's situations.
Norman J. Baugher addressed some churchmen of the eastern part of the United States on the nature of the Church of the Brethren. He observed:
"My impression is that we are a minority group, developing many of the characteristics of other churches, but trying to hold doggedly to a few particular convictions and to a style of life and churchliness which we identify among ourselves as 'Brethren' ".21
Some Brethren find hope for renewal in the traditions of "the Be- lievers' Church". A conference of church leaders at Louisville, Kentucky in the late summer of 1967 brought twelve denominations together to discuss their common heritage as members of the Believers' Church. The American heritage is basically one in which the Believers' Churches filled the vacuum which resulted when Europe's state churches failed to become established in the New World. This Scripturally-based heritage is relevant for contemporary life, according to many leaders of the Church of the Brethren. The conservative magazine, Christianity Today, noted that the concept of the Believers' Church is a welcome antidote to the un- biblical individualism that has infected American evangelism.
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Perhaps Dr. Calvert N. Ellis is correct: the denomination is only part way along the road from a sect to a church (1963). The Church of the Brethren continues to manifest some sectarian qualities. On the other hand, it has also shown some characteristics of a church. It recog- nizes values in the culture around it. It has increasingly delegated
responsibility to professional leadership. It has stressed education and has developed rituals in worship. These are clear marks of a church. In order to further its own goals it has learned to cooperate with other institutions in society including the United States Government.
The Church of the Brethren has fostered diversity of life and thought. The "State of the Church" address of Dr. M. Guy West, a district pastor, made this point clear. In 1968, Dr. West made an earnest appeal to the Annual Conference delegates to meet dissension within their ranks with dialogue and not diatribe. He noted that without "differing points of view we tend to become complacent." Dr. West saw the majority of the members of the church confident about the church's future and its renewal.22
INVOLVEMENT
Slowly the Christian Church is being discovered as universal. Lead- ers have turned aside from the Scriptures which emphasize division and have accepted the Scriptures which stress unity. The denomination has turned toward the ecumenical movement since this is the strongest move- ment of the day on behalf of the universal church.
Leaders of the Reformation four centuries ago were also involved in an attempt to understand the nature of the church.23. They were trying to recover the church from an authoritarian hierarchy which held the true church in a "Babylonian captivity". Many people see the present ecumen- ical resurgence as a recovery of the Protestant spirit. Some have even dared to predict that the trend toward church unity and interchurch cooperation may be one of the most significant events of the entire twentieth century. Although Protestantism has frequently been criticized for its denominational diversity, one must never forget that the ecumenical movement is really the product of Protestantism.
For many years the average layman had very little appreciation for the movement toward church unity. It was regarded as a special topic for clergymen. A laymen invented the term "ecumaniac" to describe the obsession of some clergymen. No matter what the attitude of laymen has been, ecumenism is a fact which Christians must confront in the twentieth century. A peculiar force of the time, the trend toward inter- church fellowship and cooperation has affected Protestants. the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Old Catholic Church, the Coptic Church and the Roman Catholic Church. When John Oliver Nelson spoke to the Brethren in 1954, he reminded them: "God confronts us in this century with the coming together of Christians."
In 1950, the most prolonged discussion of the conference centered about a Standing Committee recommendation to send delegates to the constituting convention of the National Council of Churches of Christ in America. Although most of the opposition arose from the Eastern zone of the brotherhood, the recommendation passed by a vote of 544 to 130. Efforts have been made to force the Annual Conference to reconsider its relationship to the Council of Churches, but so far these efforts have been fruitless. The denomination has committed itself to a policy of coopera- tion with other church bodies.
Concerning the developing mood within the church, a report by Standing Committee delegates to the District Conference observed:
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"As one tries to feel the pulse of the Church of the Brethren at a great Annual Conference, one feels ... we are moving out of an era of withdrawal into a period of great challenges. We see these are too big to face alone and are joining with consecrated Christians of other communions to help bring to bear on the problems the combined Christian witness of all of us. . . . "24
There has been a steady minority resistance to the denomination's cooperation with other denominations at local, national and international levels. The Southern District of Pennsylvania, in conference at Antietam in 1965, sent a query asking the Annual Conference "to consider again whether or not the Church of the Brethren should remain in the National Council of Churches".25 In 1966, the Annual Conference of the denomin- ation asked for a study of the church's relationship to the National Council of Churches.
As a result of the national study, the denomination reaffirmed the church's "resolute and profound commitment to cooperation with our brethren in Christ through local, state, national and world councils of churches."26 The 1968 study committee recommended continued affiliation and budgeted support for the National Council of Churches. The com- mittee report also recommended that the church should explore the pos- sibility of ecumenical affiliation with other groups of the Anabaptist tradition.27 In keeping with this recommendation, on several occasions Harold S. Martin, Harold Z. Bomberger and William L. Gould have repre- sented the denomination at conferences of the National Association of Evangelicals.
The crucial test of the ecumenical spirit is whether it can be given a community expression. Churches cannot practice the spirit of openness toward others if they continually refuse fellowship to the various Chris- tian peoples within their own communities. In 1958, the Church of the Brethren expressed its openness toward others: "we will seek to develop congregations which are inclusive of all people in our communities".28 Seven years before the denomination extended the privilege of participa- tion in the traditional Brethren Lovefeast and Communion to members of other evangelical faiths. In 1958, the denomination went on record as approving the acceptance of members of other evangelical faiths by letter without rebaptism.29 In adopting such a reciprocal membership policy, the denomination took another step in the direction of becoming a church. A church is by its very nature inclusive and emphasizes the universal features of the Christian Gospel. In contrast, a sect is exclusive and appeals basically to the individualistic and ethical elements of the Chris- tian faith.30.
The Annual Conference has also reflected another aspect of a matur- ing church. The denomination decided to turn to the world with its witness. The "world" has customarily been a thorny issue for many members of the denomination. The Brotherhood Board spent three years in planning a special emphasis which appeared in 1965 as "Mission One". By adopting a program in which the church turned to the world, the denomination reversed an attitude which it held for many years of with- drawing from the world.
The Manchester Study Conference of 1960 said:
"We must accept living in the world, but we must not accept the world as it is. We are called to be God's instrument for transforming it, changing, improving, and redeeming it through the power revealed in Jesus Christ."31
The conviction grew upon the church that its missions cannot be performed solely within the walls of the church. The Lordship of Christ must extend over all of life and it must seek to make "the kingdoms of this world
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become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ" (Revelation 11:15). Reports to the conferences began to insist that the church must bring its gospel to bear upon such areas as the liquor industry, the military interests, slums, obsolete housing, advertisement and mass media.
The conference of 1967 followed the theme, "God Loves The World So Throughout this conference an attempt was made to help the church to look to the world which God loves. The appeal for openness and awareness were frequently heard in speeches from the rostrum and the floor. In his Bible Hour addresses, Dr. Dale W. Brown touched upon the central theme:
"God loves the world so the curtain of the temple which separates the Holy of Holies from the rest of life has been torn in two. It was the death of Jesus Christ which shattered the barriers between the temple and the profane-that which stands outside. The curtain has been ripped between the sacred and the secular, the supernatural and the natural. God made the world."
The movement toward unity with others is not confined to the Church of the Brethren alone. A number of forces have been at work in our world to bring the churches together. A central feature of the Social Gospel movement in the early twentieth century was the church's witness to the world. The church has rediscovered its responsibility for the redemption of society as well as the redemption of individuals in the society.
Many sensitive Christians have felt the sharp clash between the broken- ness of the Christian churches and the consistent appeal of the Scriptures for unity (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 4:4-6). How can a divided, broken church be of any real use in a divided world? Churches began to repent of their brokenness.
CHANGE
Although every age has witnessed some degree of change, the past few decades have been conspicuous for the speed with which change has come. The Church of the Brethren has been sensitive not only to the changes occurring in the world, but also to the changing patterns of its own total life. The discussions on organization, identity and involvement have come about because of the pressures of a rapidly changing world. When the church questions the nature of its own mission, it is confront- ing the pressures of change. In the process of discussing its own mission, the church has gradually lifted itself above sectarian discussions to the question of the nature of God.
Repeatedly within the past thirty years leaders of the church have pointed to the changes which the denomination was facing. Rufus D. Bowman warned in 1944: "Our Brethren Heritage Is Threatened".32 He deplored the passing of such practices as the reading of Matthew 18 prior to baptism and the tendency of Brethren to go to war. He deplored the presence of inactive members on church rolls and the neglect of the doctrine of non-conformity.
The Gospel Messenger editor in 1959 made this comment about change in the church:
"Though the nature of the business of the church has changed through the years, much of it has focused on the visible evidences of the church rather than upon the mission of the church. In earlier years we spent time discussing the 'outward evidences' of the church such as dress of the church members, musical instruments in the church, and related items. More recently we have spent time discuss- ing the organization of the church: committees, commissions, boards,
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their relationships, methods of electing deacons, responsibilities of elders, etc."33
The emphasis of the church in earlier years was upon what individuals should believe. In more recent years, the emphasis has fallen upon the machinery of the church.
Similar changes have occurred in other areas of church life. Women are now permitted to be ordained to the full ministry. The church recog- nized the vital role which women have played in the life of many congrega- tions and has taken steps to treat women with a greater degree of equal- ity.34 The position of the elder has also declined as the professional ministry has grown. The Annual Conference of 1967 took action to phase out the office of elder.
The transition of America from a rural nation to an urban one has had its effects upon the church. Traditionally, the Church of the Brethren has been rural in background. By 1953, however, there were deep concerns about the survival of the rural church. Although seventy- four percent of the congregations remained rural in 1954, there was a growing interest in the strategy the denomination should use in confront- ing the urban challenges. A decade of growth created alarm because there were so many small churches within the denomination.
In foreign lands, the church was compelled to surrender its paternal- istic policies. The policies of foreign missions were altered in the face of rising nationalism in many parts of the world. In 1955, the conference established the policy of encouraging churches in Nigeria, India and Ecuador to become self-supporting. The church turned from a paternal- istic role to a partnership role.
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