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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... major cultural changes had adversely impacted the life of the church . The jolting movement from a rural , ethnically homogeneous peo- ple to a new environment of individualism and modernity produced sobering changes that raised many ...
... 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 community did not migrate to Russia . Of their unwillingness to move with ...
... reform.30 Education was thus a major influence in the reform of a people in cultural and religious stagnation resulting from cen- turies of isolation . James Urry has furnished important evi- 9 A PHENOMENON OF RENEWAL.
... major factor in the struggles during the initial years of the Mennonite Brethren movement . According to John A. Toews , Wüst was a " Moses ' who led many people out of the bondage of a life- less tradition and dead orthodoxy to a ...
... major 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 ...