A Pilgrimage of Faith: The Mennonite Brethren Church in Russia and North America, 1860-1990It is now [1990] one hundred and thirty years since the birth of the Mennonite Brethren Church and therefore time for someone in that church to take a backward glance to see how things have developed. Who better to do this John B. Toews. His life spans well over half of those years and he has experienced much of what he writes. "JB" as he is affectionately known by both students and colleagues is a patriarchal figure in the Mennonite Brethren Church. Born in Ukraine, the Russian Revolution and its aftermath were the crucible that shaped his youth and young adult years. After studying in Western Europe, Toews immigrated to Canada in the late 1920s. Much of his life has been in Mennonite Brethren educational institutions in Canada and the United States. During ten years as Executive Secretary of the Mennonite Brethren Board of Missions he traveled widely and came to know Mennonite Brethren people around the world. In between educational and mission administrative responsibilities he pastored in Kansas and California. After retiring from the presidency of the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary he became the founding Director of the Historical Commission of the Mennonite Brethren Church.
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From inside the book
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... become critics of their contemporaries . This lies in the very nature of their enterprise . It is now one hundred and thirty three years since the birth of the Mennonite Brethren Church , and therefore time for someone in that church to ...
... become theologically shallow , spiritually weak , blind to the work of God in others , and married to our culture.3 Amid the swirling change of the late twentieth century we need to hear the exhortation of Robert Schrag , editor of Men ...
... become practically desolate and empty and was about to collapse . " 18 A major factor in the spiritual decline of the church in Russia was lack of adequate leadership . For the most part , the educated leaders in the Prussian Mennonite ...
... become one . " " The church had become spiri- tually impotent . When the light that is in the church is dark- ness , then how great is that darkness . Historian John A. Toews aptly stated the issue : “ A river cannot rise higher than ...
... become the salt of the church . " 38 The younger Hildebrand expressed his father's satisfaction that the adherents of this group were the most ardent church- goers . " Apparently they sought to translate their Christianity into practice ...