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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... ment play the role they do in the birth of the Mennonite Brethren Church in Russia . By returning - or at least attempt- ing to do so to this dual beginning , renewal movements of necessity become critics of their contemporaries . This ...
... ment of greater warmth , the magnetic center for those who called themselves ' brethren ' long before the Mennonite Brethren Church was organized . Many members of other Mennonite congregations formally joined Gnadenfeld because they ...
... ment , fully conscious of the grave consequences that such a step might bring . On January 18 nine others also signed the document.45 There were six immediate issues in the document : ( 1 ) A disassociation from the decadent church ...
... ment or one of the Epistles . A minister provided a general in- troduction , placing the scriptural passage into its historical and exegetical context . The ministers , alternating between them- selves , interpreted its meaning and ...
... ment in the 1860 secession document- " In the articles , we are in agreement with our dear Menno , according to our convic- tions from the Holy Scripture " -provided only a partial expla- nation . Nor did the influence of Pietism , with ...