Question Submitted: When did a passionate movement about believer’s baptism and separation from church and state (and eventually pacifism) become a movement of sullen, strict, sticklers for coverings and modest clothing?
As I’ve said before, I grew up a Mennonite pastor’s son. Still am. I just say that to set the context in which I was raised. I learned Anabaptist theology by default. Gleaned insight into the history through dinner table conversations. Discovered raw, unattractive realities of church life by watching my Dad lead.
We didn’t live in a highly concentrated Anabaptist area (for that I am grateful!), so I wasn’t aware of all the nuances of the Anabaptist church at large until later in life. I went to Bible School in Pennsylvania in 2010—totally shocked what many viewed to be normal for life.
If you wore certain clothes, knew certain people, and talked a certain way, you were cool and it was totally accepted even by the authorities. However, if you didn’t manage to wear the approved style of clothing (even if your clothing was in many ways more appropriate), you were not cool. And too often, I noticed, you probably also didn’t receive the same kind of favor by the authorities as those who played the clothing game just right.
It seemed to me that one was considered a well-respected Christian as long as he demonstrated a relative consent for the traditional way of life. If the outward appearance looked good, he was okay and maybe even blessed.
Sadly, some could never get the outward appearance perfect, but actually had more authentic hearts wanting God than the cool people who had the appearance down right. These same good-hearted people often ran into more trouble with the authorities than the cool guys who talked negatively about the authorities behind their backs.
I don’t mean to criticize people; just sharing what I observed. And this leads me to my response to the question above.
My first time at Bible school was nearly eight years ago. I’ve seen something drastically shift in the last eight years (perhaps those who have taught at Bible school for many years would say it started quite a while before). In recent years, I’ve began digging in to Anabaptist history trying to understand why things are the way they are (and why they’re shifting). What I’ve discovered, so far, actually surprises me.
I have only scratched the surface of Anabaptist history, so I don’t claim to be well versed in it. But let me share a few observations I have seen in what I have learned. There’s a drastic difference between Anabaptists as they started and Anabaptists as we know them today. In short, I am increasingly convinced if the early Anabaptist were alive today, and doing their thing, modern Anabaptists would persecute them. Let me explain.
Early Anabaptists
Speaking in broad terms, early Anabaptists focused on getting back to Jesus. The church had become so ritualistic and run by traditions of men that much of what the church taught clearly wasn’t even biblical. There are many reasons for that, one being personal Bibles were relatively new. So, church leaders could essentially say what they wanted and few could object.
But there were a few young men (some priests, some being mentored by priests) who began voraciously digging into God’s Word and being honest about what it said. They discovered, the church had strayed drastically from its Cornerstone.
The early Anabaptists were about getting back to Christ. Christianity, to them, was about a life transformed by a very real relationship with Jesus. Solo Cristo—salvation is only through Christ. What did He teach? What does Scripture show us about Jesus, what He taught, and what it means to follow Him?
Furthermore, they counted suffering to be one of the greatest acts of worship they could do. They vocally resisted traditional church in its day, not mincing words about where it had strayed from God’s Word and how to get back to what Christ created the church to be.
Their key teachings focused on Scripture as final authority, need for a pure church of believers entered through baptism, the Word is the Christian’s sword in a different Kingdom, universal atonement (in response to infant baptism for removing original sin), free-will and experiential understanding of salvation, and the imminent coming of Christ.
There were no rules for how one should dress—that came later. It wasn’t about maintaining (or even creating) a way of life; but living as God calls us to live through Jesus as we see in His Word.
But things changed.
Modern Anabaptists
What the Anabaptist church has become known for in the last century is not a radical relationship with Jesus, but a way of life. The focus seems to be on maintaining that way of life, getting back to how early Anabaptists began living as a result of their relationship with Jesus. Jesus is not so much the point. Our Anabaptist articles are.
Modern Anabaptists tend to read the Bible through the lens of how they think Christians should live, as opposed to wrestling through our presuppositions, seeking to understand the Bible as God meant it to be read. The goal of Bible reading, then, is not a deeper relationship with Christ, but getting right beliefs and discovering what we need to obey (so we can be good Christians).
They have also adapted a more protestant view of politics and self-protection and, as a result, no longer have such high esteem for acts of suffering. Modern Anabaptists are doing well, in their minds, if they continue in their traditional lifestyle, provide exuberantly for their families, and refuse to be swayed by the popular concepts of the world.
The only problem is, at the very core, we have been swayed. We have shifted. We have lost our first Love.
Wrestling with Questions
Are right beliefs wrong? Is taking care of your family bad? Do we never protect ourselves? Should we let pop culture direct our thinking (even when it’s pop “Christian” culture)?
No. In fact, this is part of the problem: what we focus on today is really what should result in real, authentic relationship with Christ. It’s just that we are trying to get the relationship through the results.
It’s like trying to have a baby with a lady so you can get to know her.
We would never do that—sounds perverted!
So why are we doing it with God?
How the Anabaptist Church Is Changing
The Anabaptist church is changing because this generation is wanting more. If they haven’t totally walked away from their church, yet, they are at least desperately desiring to get back to Jesus—not just a traditional way of life.
This generation sees the inconsistencies and flaws in our interpretations of Scripture. In a way, they feel they’ve been lied to because their leaders have blackmailed other Christians as heretics and false teachers. But when they get to know such people, they discover more life and encouragement to follow Christ than they did in their church of origin.
People, today, are ready to give up cultural ways of dressing, cultural ways of doing church, cultural interpretations of Scripture. They want to get back to truly following Christ. They don’t just want to get back to early Anabaptism. They want what early Anabaptists were after: Jesus. They want a relationship with Him to infiltrate every area of life.
They also want to remove themselves from the “Republican is Christian” tradition of the American Church. They are suspicious of church systems, untrusting of people who can’t give space for hard questions, desperate for relationships, and hungry for life—spirit-filled life.
My Observations of How the Anabaptist Church Is Changing
Yes, I believe the Anabaptist church has strayed from its original movement. I realize I haven’t gone into how we strayed, but rather I have suggested that its changing.
And I believe it’s changing for the good.
I share these desires. I think the way the church is changing heads us in a good direction, and I want to be a part of helping people rediscover Jesus. However, I also have a few concerns about this change.
I don’t think all church systems (even more, all pastors) are as malicious as this generation can make them out to be.
I don’t think the previous generations purposely pursued what has become. In other words, I believe they responded their dead-level-best to issues they faced in their day (that we know nothing about), without realizing the negative side-affects to follow. In the same way, I suspect future generations will want to change things we bring about.
I value elements of the lifestyle that has been handed down to us—I just believe having the focus of our faith on lifestyle over relationship contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
If we’re not careful, we’ll catapult to the opposite extreme of what we’ve been given (and not end up anywhere better).
We need mentors. We need the voice of those who have gone before—even if we don’t always agree with them. Agreeing is not the goal in mentorship. Having our motives, thinking, beliefs, understanding of Scripture, way of life, world-view sharpened is the goal.
We need to be ruthlessly honest, vigorous students of God, His Word, and ourselves.
We need to embrace suffering (which means loving those we’d rather walk away from).
We need to remember Democrat is not anymore Christian.
Finally, we need to become a people of prayer because, without connection with God through prayer, we are sure to only further stray.
