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.
|
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 81
... concern for the present is idolatry . Israel was guilty of this sin . People may seek escape from the responsibilities of the present by brood- ing over the past ; but the opposite - degrading our history - is also a sin . We need to ...
... discontented with conditions in the larger church . Reimer was concerned to reform the Russian Mennonites in accord with the traditions of the six- teenth - century Anabaptist church and the writings of Menno 8 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH.
... concerns were for a restoration of a bibli- cal and Anabaptist church . The founders of the new move- ment felt intimately related to the sixteenth century . Though Pietism had strongly influenced their spiritual renewal , they chose ...
... -1900 ) provided little evi- dence of creedal concern . The point of reference for them was not a codified statement but the study of Scripture in or- der to find answers to questions arising in the life 18 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH.
... concern . Their understanding of salvation was rooted in a " Christo- centric theology . " Briefly stated , this meant a fervent belief in Jesus Christ as God incarnate , his vicarious death and victori- ous resurrection as the all ...