THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH IN BRAZIL:
IDENTITY AND MISSION
THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY
OF NORTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
LOMBARD, ILLINOIS
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
BY
MARCOS ROBERTO INHAUSER
JUNE 1997
To
Mariana Barriga
APPROVAL FORM
THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH IN BRAZIL:
IDENTITY AND MISSION
MARCOS ROBERTO INHAUSER
Approved by:
___________________________
(Supervisor)
___________________________
(Second Reader)
___________________________
(Director of Doctoral Studies)
Date: ________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I
ACKNOWLEDGENTS
xx
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
xxi
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION......................................
1
Final Project Purposes
2. THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH HISTORY..........
10
The Evangelical Mennonite Church
3. INTERPRETING THE DATA FROM THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE
CHURCH..................................
A Family Church
A Young Church
A Non-Evangelistic Church
A Non-Committed Church
A Growing Church
A Gifted Unministering Church
A Loving Church
A Low Class Church
A Worshiping Church
A Theologically Uninstructed Church
A Socially Concerned Church
v
21
4. THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS AT THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE
CHURCH............................................
44
5. HOPEWELL’S TYPOLOGY OF THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE
CHURCH............................................
49
Canonic
Gnostic
Charismatic
Empiric
The EMC Typology
6. SYDER’S TYPOLOGY OF THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE
CHURCH............................................
63
The Priority Mission of the Church is
Evangelism
The Priority Mission of the Church is the Body
of Believers
Conversion and Political Restructuring are
Equally Important
Evangelism is Politics
Distinct yet Equal
Considerations on Syder’s Typology
Syder’s Typology of the EMC
7. NIEBUHR’S TYPOLOGY OF THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH
IN BRAZIL..................................
Christ Against Culture
The Christ of Culture
vi
69
Christ Above Culture
Christ and Culture in Paradox
Christ the Transformer of Culture
Niebuhr’s Typology of the EMC
8. ROOZEN/MCKINNEY/CARROL TYPOLOGY OF THE EVANGELICAL
MENNONITE CHURCH IN BRAZIL........................
76
9. THE THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE
CHURCH IN BRAZIL........................
83
10. A THEOLOGY OF A LIFE-CENTERED MINISTRY............
95
Understanding Life
Understanding Death
An Option for Life
Understanding Love
Understanding Love and Life
Understanding Love and Death
Understanding Love and Justice
Understanding Love that Promotes Life
Understanding Love as Transfusion of Life
Understanding Ministry as Life Promotion
11. CONCLUSION........................................
Appendix
1. INTERVIEW WITH SUSE PENNER, EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH
vii
122
OF JARDIM NOVA EUROPA MEMBER.............
134
2. INTERVIEW WITH ELAINE KAUFFMANN, NORTH AMERICAN
MISSIONARY.......................................
137
3. INTERVIEW WITH GLENN MUSSELMAN, ONE OF THE FIRST NORTH
AMERICAN MENNONITE TO COME TO BRAZIL.......
143
4. INTERVIEW WITH PETER G. SIEMENS, MENNONITE PASTOR
150
5. INTERVIEW WITH REV. JULIO ANDRADADE FERREIRA.....
153
Bibliography
158
PART II
I. DATA ABOUT THE EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH IN BRAZIL
Table A 1......................................
A - 1
Table A 2......................................
A - 1
Table A 3......................................
A - 2
Table A 4......................................
A - 2
Table A 5......................................
A - 3
Table A 6......................................
A - 3
Table A 7......................................
A - 3
Table A 8......................................
A - 4
Table A 9......................................
A - 4
Table A 10.....................................
A - 4
Table A 11.....................................
A - 5
Table A 12.....................................
A - 6
viii
Table A 13.....................................
A - 6
Table A 14.....................................
A - 7
Table A 15.....................................
A - 7
Table A 16.....................................
A - 8
Table A 17.....................................
A - 8
Table A 18.....................................
A - 8
Table A 19.....................................
A - 8
Table A 20.....................................
A - 8
Table A 21.....................................
A - 9
Table A 22.....................................
A - 9
Table A 23.....................................
A - 9
Table A 24.....................................
A - 9
Table A 25.....................................
A - 9
Table A 26.....................................
A - 10
Table A 27.....................................
A - 10
Table A 28.....................................
A - 10
Table A 29.....................................
A - 10
Table A 30.....................................
A - 11
Table A 31.....................................
A - 11
Table A 32.....................................
A - 11
Table A 33.....................................
A - 11
ix
Table A 34.....................................
A - 11
Table A 35.....................................
A - 12
Table A 36.....................................
A - 12
Table A 37.....................................
A - 12
Table A 38.....................................
A - 12
Table A 39.....................................
A - 12
Table A 40.....................................
A - 13
Table A 41.....................................
A - 13
Table A 42.....................................
A - 13
Table A 43.....................................
A - 13
Table A 44.....................................
A - 14
Table A 45.....................................
A - 14
Table A 46.....................................
A - 14
Table A 47.....................................
A - 15
Table A 48.....................................
A - 15
Table A 49.....................................
A - 15
Table A 50.....................................
A - 16
Table A 51.....................................
A - 16
Table A 52.....................................
A - 16
Table A 53.....................................
A - 17
Table A 54.....................................
A - 17
x
Table A 55.....................................
A - 17
Table A 56.....................................
A - 17
Table A 57.....................................
A - 18
Table A 58.....................................
A - 18
Table A 59.....................................
A - 18
Table A 60.....................................
A - 19
Table A 61.....................................
A - 19
Table A 62.....................................
A - 19
Table A 63.....................................
A - 20
Table A 64.....................................
A - 20
Table A 65.....................................
A - 20
Table A 66.....................................
A - 21
Table A 67.....................................
A - 21
Table A 68.....................................
A - 21
Table A 69.....................................
A - 22
Table A 70.....................................
A - 22
Table A 71.....................................
A - 22
Table A 72.....................................
A - 23
Table A 73.....................................
A - 23
Table A 74.....................................
A - 23
xi
Table A 75.....................................
A - 23
Table A 76.....................................
A - 24
Table A 77.....................................
A - 24
Table A 78.....................................
A - 24
Table A 79.....................................
A - 25
Table A 80.....................................
A - 25
Table A 81.....................................
A - 25
Table A 82.....................................
A - 26
Table A 83.....................................
A - 26
Table A 84.....................................
A - 26
Table A 85.....................................
A - 26
Table A 86.....................................
A - 27
Table A 87.....................................
A - 27
Table A 88.....................................
A - 27
Table A 89.....................................
A - 28
Table A 90.....................................
A - 28
Table A 91.....................................
A - 28
Table A 92.....................................
A - 29
Table A 93.....................................
A - 29
Table A 94.....................................
A - 29
Table A 95.....................................
A - 29
xii
Table A 96.....................................
A - 30
Table A 97.....................................
A - 30
Table A 98.....................................
A - 30
Table A 99.....................................
A - 30
Table A 100....................................
A - 31
Table A 101....................................
A - 31
Table A 102....................................
A - 31
Table A 103....................................
A - 31
Table A 104....................................
A - 32
Table A 105....................................
A - 32
Table A 106....................................
A - 32
Table A 107....................................
A - 32
Table A 108....................................
A - 33
Table A 109....................................
A - 33
Table A 110....................................
A - 33
Table A 111....................................
A - 33
Table A 112....................................
A - 34
Table A 113....................................
A - 34
Table A 114....................................
A - 34
Table A 115....................................
A - 34
Table A 116....................................
A - 35
xiii
Table A 117....................................
A - 35
Table A 118....................................
A - 35
Table A 119....................................
A - 36
Table A 120....................................
A - 36
Table A 121....................................
A - 36
Table A 122....................................
A - 37
Table A 123....................................
A - 37
Table A 124....................................
A - 37
Table A 125....................................
A - 38
Table A 126....................................
A - 38
Table A 127....................................
A - 38
Table A 128....................................
A-39
II. Tables on Spiritual Gifts Inventory
IEM Araguacema....................................
G - 1
IEM Ceilândia.....................................
G - 2
IEM Colônia Francesa..............................
G - 3
IEM Goianorte.....................................
G - 4
IEM Jardim Guanabara..............................
G - 5
IEM Interlagos....................................
G - 6
IEM Jardim Eliza..................................
G - 7
xiv
IEM Lapa..........................................
G - 8
IEM Lindóia.......................................
G - 9
IEM Palmeira......................................
G - 10
IEM Pinheirinho...................................
G - 11
IEM Ponta Grossa..................................
G - 12
IEM Ribeirão Preto................................
G - 13
IEM Sertãozinho...................................
G - 14
IEM Vila Guarani..................................
G - 15
IEM Xaxim.........................................
G - 16
EMC’s Churches....................................
G - 17
Region I..........................................
G - 18
Region II.........................................
G - 19
Region III........................................
G - 20
Region IV.........................................
G - 21
Comparative Table of EMC and Regions..............
G - 22
Comparative Table of EMC’s Churches...............
G - 23
III. Tables on Hopewell’s Typology of the EMC
IEM Araguacema...................................
H - 1
IEM Ceilândia....................................
H - 2
IEM Jardim Eliza.................................
H - 3
IEM Colônia Francesa.............................
H - 4
xv
IEM Goianorte....................................
H - 5
IEM Jardim Guanabara............................
H - 6
IEM Interlagos..................................
H - 7
IEM Lapa........................................
H - 8
IEM Lindóia.....................................
H - 9
IEM Palmeira....................................
H - 10
IEM Pinheirinho.................................
H - 11
IEM Ponta Grossa................................
H - 12
IEM Ribeirão Preto..............................
H - 13
IEM Sertãozinho.................................
H - 14
IEM Vila Guarani................................
H - 15
IEM Xaxim.......................................
H - 16
EMC’s Churches..................................
H - 17
Region I.....................................
H - 18
Region II.......................................
H - 19
Region III......................................
H - 20
Region IV.......................................
H - 21
Comparative Table of EMC and Regions............
H - 22
Comparative Table of EMC’s Churches............
H - 23
IV. Tables on Aulen’s Typology of the EMC
xvi
IEM Araguacema..................................
L - 1
IEM Ceilândia...................................
L - 2
IEM Colônia Francesa............................
L - 3
IEM Goianorte...................................
L - 4
IEM Interlagos..................................
L - 5
IEM Jardim Eliza................................
L - 6
IEM Jardim Guanabara............................
L - 7
IEM Lapa........................................
L - 8
IEM Lindóia.....................................
L - 9
IEM Palmeira....................................
L - 10
IEM Pinheirinho.................................
L - 11
IEM Ponta Grossa................................
L - 12
IEM Ribeirão Preto..............................
L - 13
IEM Sertãozinho.................................
L - 14
IEM Vila Guarani................................
L - 15
IEM Xaxim.......................................
L - 16
EMC’s Churches..................................
L - 17
Region I........................................
L - 18
Region II.......................................
L - 19
xvii
Region III......................................
L - 20
Region IV......................................
L - 21
Comparative Table of EMC and Regions...........
L - 22
Comparative Table of EMC’s Churches.............
L - 23
V. Tables on Niebuhr’s Typology of EMC
IEM Araguacema...............................
N - 1
IEM Ceilândia...................................
N - 2
IEM Colônia Francesa............................
N - 3
IEM Goianorte...................................
N - 4
IEM Jardim Eliza................................
N - 5
IEM Jardim Guanabara............................
N - 6
IEM Interlagos..................................
N - 7
IEM Lapa........................................
N - 8
IEM Lindóia.....................................
N - 9
IEM Palmeira....................................
N - 10
IEM Pinheirinho.................................
N - 11
IEM Ponta Grossa................................
N - 12
IEM Ribeirão Preto..............................
N - 13
IEM Sertãozinho.................................
N - 14
IEM Vila Guarani................................
N - 15
IEM Xaxim.......................................
N - 16
xviii
EMC’s Churches..................................
N - 17
Region I........................................
N - 18
Region II.......................................
N - 19
Region III......................................
N - 20
Region IV.......................................
N - 21
Comparative Table of EMC and Regions............
N - 22
Comparative Table of EMC’s Churches.............
N - 23
VI. Roozen/McKinney/Carrol Typology of the EMC
IEM Araguacema..................................
R - 1
IEM Ceilândia...................................
R - 2
IEM Colônia Francesa............................
R - 3
IEM Goianorte...................................
R - 4
IEM Jardim Guanabara............................
R - 5
IEM Interlagos..................................
R - 6
IEM Jardim Eliza................................
R - 7
IEM Lapa........................................
R - 8
IEM Lindóia.....................................
R - 9
IEM Palmeira....................................
R - 10
IEM Pinheirinho.................................
R - 11
IEM Ponta Grossa................................
R - 12
IEM Ribeirão Preto..............................
R - 13
xix
IEM Sertãozinho.................................
R - 14
IEM Vila Guarani................................
R - 15
IEM Xaxim.......................................
R - 16
EMC’s Churches..................................
R - 17
Region I.....................................
R - 18
Region II.......................................
R - 19
Region III......................................
R - 20
Region IV.......................................
R - 21
Comparative Table of EMC and Regions............
R - 22
Comparative Table of EMC’s Churches............
R - 23
VII. Tables on Syder’s Typology of the EMC
IEM Araguacema................................
S - 1
IEM Ceilândia...................................
S - 2
IEM Colônia Francesa............................
S - 3
IEM Goianorte...................................
S - 4
IEM Jardim Guanabara............................
S - 5
IEM Interlagos..................................
S - 6
IEM Jardim Eliza................................
S - 7
IEM Lapa........................................
S - 8
IEM Lindóia.....................................
S - 9
IEM Palmeira....................................
S - 10
xx
IEM Pinheirinho.................................
S - 11
IEM Ponta Grossa................................
S - 12
IEM Ribeirão Preto..............................
S - 13
IEM Sertãozinho.................................
S - 14
IEM Vila Guarani................................
S - 15
IEM Xaxim.......................................
S - 16
EMC’s Churches..................................
S - 17
Region I........................................
S - 18
Region II.......................................
S - 19
Region III......................................
S - 20
Region IV.......................................
S - 21
Comparative Table of EMC and Regions............
S - 22
Comparative Table of EMC’s Churches............
S - 23
VIII. Table of All Studied Typologies of EMC
Churches.......................................
T - 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMNTS
This entire Final Project would be not possible without the
help and advise of Dr. Alfred Jenkins and Dr. Daniel Schipani,
to whom I have a profound gratitude.
xxi
ABREVIATIONS
CAC
Niebuhr’s Type of “Christ Above Culture”
CAN
Hopewell’s Type of Canonic
CAR
Hopewell’s Type of Charismatic
CCC
Niebuhr’s Type of “Christ Against Culture”
CCP
Niebuhr’s Type of “Christ and Culture in Paradox”
CDC
Niebuhr’s Type of “Christ of Culture”
CIV
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol’s Type of Civic Church
CLA
Aulén’s Type of Classic Soteriology
COMU
Syder’s Type of “The Priority Mission of the Church is the
Body of Believers”
COS
Aulén’s Type of Cosmic Soteriology
CTC
Niebuhr’s Type of “Christ the Transformer of
DADM
Spiritual Gift of Administration or Presiding
DAPO
Spiritual Gift of Apostleship
DCON
Spiritual Gift of Word of Knowledge
DCOT
Spiritual Gift of Giving or Contribution
DCUR
Spiritual Gift of Healing
xxii
Culture”
DDIS
Spiritual Gift of Discernment of Spirits
DENS
Spiritual Gift of Teaching
DEVA
Spiritual Gift of Evangelization
DEXO
Spiritual Gift of Exhortation
DFE
Spiritual Gift of Faith
DMIL
Spiritual Gift of Doing Miracles
DMIS
Spiritual Gift of Mercy
DPAS
Spiritual Gift of Pastorship
DPRO
Spiritual Gift of Prophet
DSAB
Spiritual Gift of Word of Wisdom
DSER
Spiritual Gift of Service
EMC
Evangelical Mennonite Church
EMP
Hopewell’s Type of Empiric
EQUA
Syder’s Type of “Conversion and Political Reestructuring are
Equally Important”
EVA
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol’s Type of Evangelistic Church
EVAN
Syder’s Type of “The Priority Mision of the Church is
Evangelism”
GNO
Hopewell’s Type of Gnostic
IEM
Evangelical Mennonite Local Church
LEG
Aulén’s Type of Legalistic Soteriology
xxiii
MTC
Mennonite Theological Center
POL
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol’s Type of Political Church
POLI
Syder’s Type of “Evangelism is Politics”
SAN
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol’s Type of Sanctuary Church
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Final Project Purposes
The Evangelical Mennonite Church in Brazil (hereafter simply
called as EMC) is one of the youngest mission churches established by
alternative mission methods (started in the 60's).
Presently it is
formed by a variety of local churches that are samples of Brazilian's
churches identities.
It has an ethnic composition (German and Russian),
a multi cultural basis (German, Russian, North American and Canadian
cultures through missionaries, South, Central and Northeast Brazilian
subcultures).
The denomination faces problem with a national identity,
because of influences from Baptists, Presbyterian, some Free Churches,
xxiv
2
and the Pentecostal and New-Pentecostal Movements.
Because of these
aspects, my goal is to understand the profile of the EMC.1
In this Project I am putting into a written form what I have heard
in many congregations and from many church members around Latin American
countries,2 merged with my personal reflections, trying to give a
theological framework for church mission in Brazil and Latin America.
Using the James D. Whitehead and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead model of
theological reflection,3 I will use Johannine theology as the tradition
source.
Nevertheless, this theological reflection is influenced by my
personal experiences and by cultural information.
Personal experiences
are not explicit in the text, but underline every theological
affirmation.4 Cultural information will be used in two ways: in the
1
I am a member of the Mennonite Church. Besides that, I am the
Seminary Director for the whole Mennonite Church in Brazil, and the
president for Region I, which gives me a singular role as a member of
the National Board.
2
For almost five years, during my time as Secretary of Pastoral
Consolation and Solidarity of the Latin American Council of Churches, I
had the opportunity to visit churches in all Latin American countries,
from mainline to neopentecostals churches. During this time (1987-1991)
Liberation Theology was influencing many church sectors, and the themes
of life, death and justice were employed frequently.
3
James D. Whitehead and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead, Method in
Ministry: Theological Reflection and Christian Ministry (New York:
Harper San Francisco, 1980).
4
In certain way I am also using Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of
Liberation, trans. Sister Caridad Inda and John Eagleson (Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1973) methodology of "theology as second act,"
because most of my theological reflection comes from my experience
facing social, political and economical problems. The influence of
Liberation Theology on my theological reflection is high and I am in
3
debt to many sources that is quite impossible to define where each one
influenced me. Some of these sources are: Rubem A. Alves, A Theology of
Human Hope (Washington: Corpus Books, 1969); Victorio Araya, God of the
Poor, trans. Robert R. Barr. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1987); Hugo
Assman, Theology for a Nomad Church, trans. Paul Burns (Maryknoll, N.Y.:
Orbis Books, 1975); Clodovis Boff and Leonardo Boff, Introducing
Liberation Theology, trans. by Paul Burns (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books,
1987); Ibid., Salvation and Liberation, trans. Robert R. Barr
(Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1984); Ibid., Liberation Theology: From
Dialogue to Confrontation, (San Francisco: Harper &Row, 1986); Clodovis
Boff, Theology and Praxis: Epistemological Foundations, trans. Robert R.
Barr (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1987); Ibid., Feet-on-the-ground
Theology: A Brazilian Journal, trans. Phillip Berryman (Maryknoll, N.Y.:
Orbis Books, 1987); Leonardo Boff, When Theology Listens to the Poor,
trans. Robert R. Barr, 1st ed. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988);
Ibid., Ecclesiogenesis: The Base Communities Reinvent the Church, trans.
Robert R. Barr (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1986); Ibid., Faith on the
Edge: Religion and Marginalized Existence, trans. Robert R. Barr, 1st
ed. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989); Ibid., Church, Charisma and
Power: Liberation Theology and the Institutional Church, trans. John W.
Diercksmeier (New York: Crossroad, 1985); Ibid., Jesus Christ Liberator:
A Critical Christology For our Time, trans. Patrick Hughes (Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1978); Ibid., The People of God Amidst the Poor,
Marcus Lefébvre, ed. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1984); Ibid., Trinity
and Society, trans. Paul Burns (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1988);
Ibid., The Way of the Cross - Way of Justice, trans. John Drury
(Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1980); Guillermo Cook, The Expectation of
the Poor: Latin American Base Ecclesial Communities in Protestant
Perspective (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1985); José Severino Croatto,
Exodus, a Hermeneutics of Freedom, trans. Salvador Attanasio (Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1981); Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America:
Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, trans. Cedric Belfrage
(New York: Monthly Review Press, 1973); Segundo Galilea, The Way of
Living Faith: A Spirituality of Liberation, trans. John W. Diercksmeier,
1st ed.(San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988); Ibid., Spirituality of Hope,
trans. Terrence Cambias (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1988); Ibid.,
Following Jesus, trans. Helen Phillips (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books,
1981); Franz Josef Hinkelammert, The Ideological Weapons of Death: A
Theological Critique of Capitalism, trans. Phillip Berryman (Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1985); José Miguez Bonino, Doing Theology in a
Revolutionary Situation (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975); Ibid.,
Face of Jesus: Latin American Christologies, trans. Robert R. Barr
(Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1983); Ibid., Room to be People: An
Interpretation of the Message of the Bible for Today's World, trans.
Vickie Leach (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979); Ibid., Toward a
Christian Political Ethics (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985); Jorge
Pixley and Clodovis Boff, The Bible, the Church, and the Poor, trans.
4
theological statements, through footnotes, I will give cultural
information in a macro dimension, showing what the Brazilian context is.
Then, through surveys, interviews and historic data about the EMC, I
will give cultural information about this microcosm.5
In order to know
this microcosm, I decided to develop two surveys: to know what church
members think and evaluate their local churches and the whole
denomination; and to know what church members have to say about
Paul Burns (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1989); Pablo Richard, The
Idols of Death and the God of Life: A Theology, trans. Barbara E.
Campbell and Bonnie Shepard (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1983); Juan
Luis Segundo, Faith and Ideologies, trans. John Brury (Maryknoll, N.Y.:
Orbis Books, 1984); Ibid., Liberation of Theology, trans. John Drury
(Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1976); Jon Sobrino, Christology at the
Crossroad: A Latin American Approach, trans. John Drury (Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1978); Ibid., Spirituality of Liberation: Toward a
Political Holiness, trans. Robert R. Barr (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books,
1988); Elsa Tamez, Bible of the Oppressed, trans. J. O'Connell
(Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1982).
5
The sociological background for this analysis will be founded
in some sources such as: Joachim Wach, Sociologia da Religião, trans.
Attilia Cancian (São Paulo: Edições Paulinas, 1990); Stefano Martelli, A
Religião na Sociedade Pós-Moderna, trans. Euclides Martins Balancin (São
Paulo: Paulinas, 1995); J. Gershuny, After Industrial Society, the
Emerging Self Service Economy (London: McMillan, 1978); J. Beckford and
T. Luckman, The Changing Face of Religion (London, Newbury Park, CA and
New Delhi: SAGE, 1989); Boanerges Ribeiro, Protestantismo e Cultura
Brasileira: Aspectos Culturais da Implantação do Protestantismo no
Brasil (São Paulo: Casa Editora Presbiteriana, 1981); Henri Desroche,
Sociologia da Esperança, trans. Jean Briant (São Paulo: Edições
Paulinas, 1985); Peter L. Berger, Perspectivas Sociológicas, trans.
Donaldson M. Garschagen, 2d ed. (Petrópolis: Editora Vozes Ltda., 1973);
Nicholas S. Timasheff, Teoria Sociológica, trans. Antônio Bulhões, 5th
ed. (Rio de Janeiro: Zahar Editores, 1979); Pitirim A. Sorokin, Novas
Teorias Sociológicas (Porto Alegre, RS: Editôra Globo, 1969); Florestan
Fernandes, Ensaios de Sociologia Geral e Aplicada (São Paulo: Livraria
Pioneira Editora, 1976); Ibid., Mudanças Sociais no Brasil, 3d. ed.
(São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro: DIFEL - Difusão Editorial S.A., 1979);
Enrique Anda and others, Dependencia y Estructura de Clases en América
Latina (Buenos Aires: Asociación Editorial La Aurora, 1975).
5
themselves.
The first questionnaire has 130 questions that deal with
personal data, relationship to the local church, level of Christian
commitment, evangelization promoted by the church, finances, vision,
worship service, Christian Education Programs, Church growth, Church
mission, Church buildings and real estate, laity ministry, social
action, and relations between local churches and the denominational
body.
The second questionnaire consists of 198 questions that combine
spiritual gifts with Hopewell, Niebuhr, Syder and Roozen/McKinney/Carrol
typologies.
Two of these typologies are applied to individuals
(Hopewell and Niebuhr - at least in the questionnaire version I
prepared) and two are communitarian (Syder and Roozen/McKinney/Carrol).
Both questionnaires were previously tested and some improvements
were made, especially related to spiritual gifts.
I prepared a
translation from the Duncan McIntosh model6 but encountered some
problems, especially because Brazilian churches have different concepts
regarding some spiritual gifts.7
Because of this, I did a
bibliographical survey8 on spiritual gifts, discovering the “average
6
Duncan McIntosh and Richard E. Rusbuldt, Planning Growth in
Your Church (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1983), 125-133.
7
Examples of this are "creative ability," "hospitality" and
"intercession" that are gifts accepted by the authors and that, in the
Brazilian evangelical context, are not recognized as such.
8
Walter J. Bartling, “The Congregation of Christ a Charismatic
Body: An Exegetical Study of I Corinthians 12,” Concordia Theological
Monthly, 40,2 (1969): 68-80; E. Earle Ellis. “Wisdom and Knowledge in I
Corinthians,” Tyndale Bulletin, 25 (1974): 82-98; Thomas A. Jackson,
6
understanding” on this matter.
With these data, I prepared my own
version of a test for spiritual gifts, that was tested several times
before it was applied to the EMC.
Since July 1993 I have been doing personal interviews with
pastors, church members and foreign missionaries that had or have some
relation with EMC in order to establish denominational and
congregational histories and stories.
From these I prepared notes that
are used in this final evaluation and report.
I also used the
"participatory observation," using congregational, board and regional
meetings, visiting churches, and making personal contacts.
Personal
notes from these observations were taken.
“Concerning Spiritual Gifts: A Study of I Corinthians 12," Faith and
Mission, 7,1 (1989): 61-69; Stephen S. Smalley, “Spiritual Gifts and I
Corinthians 12 - 16,” Journal of Biblical Literature, 87,4 (1968): 127133; Charles H. Talbert, “Paul's Understanding of the Holy Spirit: the
Evidence of I Corinthians 12-14,” Perspectives in Religious Studies,
11,4 (1984): 95-108; Stanley D. Toussaint, “First Corinthians Thirteen
and the Tongues Question,” Bibliotheca Sacra, 120 (1963): 311-316;
Raymond E. Brown, “Diverse Views of the Spirit in the New Testament,”
Worship, 57,3 (1983): 225-236; and many other articles that are enlisted
in the final bibliography.
7
In order to complete my Final Project, I sought the basic
characteristics of the EMC, doing research using Hopewell9, Niebhur10,
Syder11 and Roozen/McKinney/Carrol12 typologies.
Thus, this Final Project will present a
historical background
for the implantation of the Mennonites in Brazil and particularly, the
implantation of the EMC. It is based on personal interviews (some of
which are included in the appendix) and church documentation. The
historical background, personal interviews, participatory observation
and church documentation gave me better conditions to interpret the data
in the questionnaire about the EMC, which is presented in the chapter 2.
In the next chapter I will present the findings on the spiritual
gifts inventory and I will show some conclusions drawn from it, related
to the EMC as a denomination.
9
I will use the typology of world vision through the
questionnaire that is in the book James F. Hopewell, Congregation:
Stories and Structures (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987).
10
I will use the typology through a questionnaire I prepared in
order to identify the position church members have facing culture. This
questionnaire is prepared based on the characteristics given in the book
H. Richard Niebhur, Cristo e Cultura (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Paz e
Terra, 1967).
11
I will use the typology through a questionnaire prepared by
myself, using the characteristics presented in the book Ronald J. Sider,
Evangelism, Salvation and Social Justice (NP: Grove Books, 1977).
12
I will use the typology presented by them in the book David A.
Roozen; William Mckinney and Jackson W. Carrol, Varieties of Religious
Presence (New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1984, 2nd Printing, 1988).
8
In chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 I will bring up the findings about the
typologies used in this Project, and how the EMC fits into each one of
them.
In chapter 8 I will merge all the previous information (data
about the EMC, spiritual gifts inventory, Hopewell, Syder, Niebuhr and
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol typologies) giving them a theological analysis
and looking at them through Aulén’s tyology.
Finally, on the the theological ground I assume that Johannine
theology was produced by a church community that was reflecting about
its community life, and that they were facing problems with community
identity13 (especially in I John where it says about those who "went out
from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us,
they would have remained with us . . .
that none of them belongs to us,").
by going out they made it plain
I will develop a theology of
ministry based on the Gospel of John and I John, where the themes of
life, death, justice and love will be developed.
Love and death will be
developed in such way that they will be a paradigm for ministry
development, since Anabaptism stresses love and justice as paradigms for
Christian life.
To develop this theology I will work as an "organic
theologian" (to use Antonio Gramsci's terminology),14 hearing church
13
Raymond E. Brown, El Evangelio Según Juan, trans. J. Valiente
Malla (Madrid: Ediciones Cristiandad, 1979); Ibid., A Comunidade do
Discípulo Amado, trans. Euclides Carneiro da Silva (São Paulo: Edições
Paulinas, 1984); Ibid., As Igrejas dos Apóstolos, trans. I. F. Leal
Ferreira (São Paulo: Edições Paulinas, 1986).
14
Antonio Gramsci, Literatura e Vida Nacional, 2nd edition (Rio
9
members own theology, to reflect upon their theological understandings,
to structure it, and to return it to the community in a more formal,
logical and practical way.
This, in my point of view, is a way to
reproduce what happened in the Johannine community and the way they
produced theology.
All these data is presented here, in two volumes. The first has
the historical background of EMC, the data analysis and the theological
considerations and proposal. The second volume is formed by all the
Tables and Appendixes. Because of this, all references to Tables made in
the first volume must be understood as belonging to the second volume.
In this Project I was assisted by two theologians (Rev. Luis
Carlos Ramos and Rev. Efraim Sanches Pereira), a statistician (Dr. Lael
de Oliveira), five pastors (Rev. Samuel Borges, Revª Suely Zanetti
Inhauser, Rev. Joás Dias de Araujo, Rev. Silas Tscherne and Pr. Peter G.
Siemens), a psychologist (Dr. Antonios Terzis), and a North American
missionary (Steve Plennert) and by a Computer Program Developer (Ing.
Milton Inhauser Filho).
de Janeiro: Editora Civilização Brasileira, 1978); Ibid., Concepção
Dialética da História, 4th edition (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Civilização
Brasileira, 1981); Ibid., Os Intelectuais e a Organização da Cultura,
trans. Carlos Nelson Coutinho, 4th ed. (Rio de Janeiro: Editora
Civilização Brasileira, 1982); Hugues Portelli, Gramsci e a Questão
Religiosa, trans. Luis Jao Gaio (São Paulo: Edições Paulinas, 1984).
CHAPTER 2
THE EMC HISTORY
The Mennonites came to Brazil for the first time in XVI century
with the Dutch invasion.
At that time, the three families, who lived
here (Esau, Kaufmann and Spielman), tried to convince the Netherland
Prince who was in charge of the Brazilian colony, Maurício Nassau, to
bring other Netherlands and German Mennonites to Brazil, but it did not
happen.
In 1694, the Dutch that were colonizing the Northeast part of
Brazil were expelled, including
Mennonites.
It was only in 1930 that the Mennonites where finally able to
established themselves in Brazilian lands.
They were descendants from
the Netherlanders and Germans that were invited by Czarina Catharine in
1786 to live in Russia, to escape the persecutions that they were
suffering in Oriental Prussia .
The political conditions in Russia became intolerable for
Christians with the implantation of communism, some of these Mennonites
families moved to Brazil and Paraguay.
In Brazil, the Hanseática
Company of Colonization gave them the valley of the River Krauel, in
Ibirama, Santa Catarina State.
There were approximately two hundred
Mennonite families in the migration process.
10
They came not only to work
11
the land, but they founded cooperatives, built schools, churches, oil
and furniture factories, stores and hospitals.
Because of the hard work
of these pioneers, they were able to establish the Witmarsun, Gnadental
and Waldeheim Colonies and Stoltz Plateau.
Later, many of these families migrated to other places.
One
group went to the Uruguayan frontier, another group moved to Curitiba, a
city in the State of Paraná, living especially in the neighborhoods of
Boqueirão, Xaxim and Vila Guaíra.
Palmeira, Paraná State, and founded
There was another group that moved to
the Witmarsun Colony.
Later other
migrations happened to the States of Mato Grosso, Goiás, Bahia and
Amazonas.
The Mennonites that came to the South of Brazil soon founded
churches.
The testimony of their community life, the honesty in
business, the simple life style and dedicated life, contributed strongly
to testify in favor of the message they were preaching.
As a result of
this, the Association of the Brethren Mennonites Churches started.
They
got together in local churches, led by brothers chosen by their own
congregations.
During the period of 1930 to 1950, these churches did
some missionary work, but stayed ethnically isolated from the society in
general, holding their worship services in German, due to the
difficulties with the Portuguese language.
When they finally became
dedicated to missionary work, they gave much attention to education.
In order to understand these first Mennonites, it is important
to remember that they had run away from cruel
persecutions in Russia
12
and that they were still psychologically insecure.
When they arrived in
Brazil, they needed help because they had lost everything that they had
in Europe.
During the first years in Santa Catarina, they had to fight
to survive in a strange and new environment.
There were many theological differences between the immigrants.
During these first years, the differences were put aside, because of
the need to survive and the need to make a living.
The desire to
reconstructed their lives and their families, the suffering
that they
lived in and the fight for adaptation into the new context, acted as
unifying elements.
The group of Mennonites who arrived in Brazil were divided
basically into three Mennonite branches: The Mennonite Church (the most
traditional one, with a historic background that goes to the XVI
century); the Mennonite Brothers (fruit of a pietistic revival,
influenced by Zinzendorf, and that spread throughout of all the
Mennonites communities in Russia in the middle of the XIX Century); and
the Alliance Church, that had as its objective the unification of the
Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Brothers.
Due to the persecution in
Russia under the communist regime since 1971, the Mennonite churches
went through a period of greater relationship between themselves, to the
extent that they celebrated their worship services together.
continued to be done for a considerable time.
This
The three groups lived
together, went to service together and, except for some theological and
administrative aspects, they worked like one.
Nevertheless, as the
13
fight for survival lessened, they had time to give more attention to
theological matters.
The Alliance Church was more connected to the
Mennonite Church, which started the Association of the Mennonite
Churches in Brazil (AIMB).
The Mennonites created two bodies: The
Brazilian Convention of Mennonite Brother Churches
(which was formed by
the churches that were worshipping in Portuguese) and the Brazilian
Association of Mennonite Brothers of Brazil (for those churches that
continued to do worship services in German).
In March 1995 the two
ecclesiastical bodies were unified by the name of the Brazilian
Convention of the Mennonite Brother Churches (COBIM).
To complete the history of the Mennonites in Brazil it is
essential to mention the roll of the Canadian and American missionaries.
The first couple was sent by the Mennonite Brothers in 1946.
They
started an orphanage in Curitiba, Paraná State; and, almost at same
time, they planted a church in the neighborhood.
came as the years went by, which founded
Others missionaries
a Bible Institute and planted
churches in many places like in the Southeast of Paraná State, the city
of São Paulo and in the Mato Grosso do Sul State.
The first missionaries from the Mennonite Board of Missions
(MBM) came to Brazil in 1955.
The Commission on Overseas Mission (COM)
only started to send Canadian missionaries in 1976.
In the beginning of 1950, an independent Mennonite organization
was founded, called Amazon Valley Mission, that initiated its work in
Araguacema.
This mission was lead by a person that rebelled against
14
denominational ways to do foreign mission and had a goal to reach the
indigenous people.
He came to Brazil, met Redenção’s Mayor who
convinced him that in this city there were natives.
Elementary School and a Church.
Thus, he started an
With the death of its president in
1957, the Mennonite Board of Missions took its leadership.
The Mennonites Brothers Church of Uberaba and the orphanage in
Curitiba were organized in 1954.
Mennonite Brothers Mission.
They received a big impulse by the
Approximately at the same time,
another
church of the Mennonite Brothers in the neighborhood of Vila Guaira, in
Curitiba, Paraná State was founded.
It was the fruit of the work of
people that were part of the first ethnic group that came as refugees.
During the same decade, in 1958, the Evangelical Mennonite
Church also established its first Brazilian church in Vila Lindoia,
Curitiba, Paraná State.
The implantation of this church was a proof
that the immigrant Mennonites had initiated a slow process of becoming
Brazilians.
Today, as we already saw, there are several groups of Mennonites
in Brazil.
As the result of many of theological and sociological
motives, questions of doctrine and the influence of strong leaders,
different groups were forming throughout the years.
happened in Europe, before they came to Brazil.
always were a majority in Brazil.
This already
The Mennonite Brothers
They became twice as large as the
Mennonite Churches and the Alliance Church together.
15
After they came to Brazil, the immigrants organized themselves
in churches according to their theological honesty.
That is how the
Mennonites Brothers created their first church in Brazil in 1930.
Similarly, other leaders met in October 1932 to initiate the
organization of the Mennonite Church.
Nevertheless, even having
different administrative bodies, for many years the churches celebrated
their worship services together.
Three decades later, the number of
churches increased to the point to justify the denominational
organization.
In 1960, after many difficulties, the Mennonite
Association of Brazil was born.
In the next year, 1961, the Association
of the Mennonites Brothers of Brazil.
The “Brazilian Council of Mennonite Mission” was created in
November 1955.
This happened because, in that year, the Mennonite Board
of Mission sent four Americans missionaries couples to Brazil.
Their
purpose was to work together with the Mennonite Churches that already
existed, and to create new churches, especially in the states of São
Paulo and Goiás.
An emphasis on evangelism was taken.
They planted churches at
the North region of Goiás (now Tocantins State), in the Distrito Federal
(surroundings of the Brazilian Capital, Brasília), Pará and São Paulo
States, and new churches in Paraná.
In May, 1957 the Evangelical
Mennonite Association was born (AEM, in this essay called as EMC),
searching to integrate the churches that were born from this missionary
16
effort.
In January, 1965, the first congress of these churches was held
in order to elaborate together plans of cooperation.
Likewise, only a couple of years later, the Mennonite Brothers
sent five more Canadian and American missionaries.
These, along with
church members of the immigrants, worked in Paraná , São Paulo, Rio
Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul States.
The Brazilian Convention
of the Mennonite Brothers Churches was held in 1966 in order to unify
and edify the churches that were planted.
The work of the Mennonite Churches, the German descendants
churches as well as the missionary churches, had a strong effort on
education and social areas.
The Churches of the AIMB felt the need to
create a Mennonite Association of Social Assistance (AMAS), that started
from a initiative from the church of Palmeira, Paraná, in collaboration
with some brothers of Witmarsun.
Later the AMAS was also present in
Araguacema and Tocantins.
In November, 1968, four families started a new denomination,
coming to Brazil with 21 members.
These families established themselves
in the Goiás (initially Anápolis and later Rio Verde) with the purpose
of working the land and to live according to the Biblical teachings, as
they understood it.
That is how the church of God in Christ, Mennonite
began (inspired on the Holderman Mennonite Church).
celebrated in English and Portuguese.
The Evangelical Mennonite Church
Their services were
17
The primary characteristic of the Brazilian Mennonites as an
ethnic church, brought some problems to access the Brazilian people.
Only in 1950, with the first North American and Canadian missionaries,
the Mennonites started planting Brazilian churches. Because of the need
of Portuguese, the first two couples went to Campinas, State of São
Paulo, to study at a missionary school that was specialized in teaching
Portuguese to foreign missionaries.
These two couples started relations
with other church leaders, especially Presbyterians.
From my interviews
and data gathering, I discovered that these first missionaries had a
service commitment.
Instead of being aggressive in evangelization, they
preferred to find ways to serve established churches.
They discover
that the way to do this was founding a Christian bookstore in the city
of Campinas, in order to help the Presbyterians that had their largest
Seminary in this city, providing them the theological texts.
They also
founded a Mennonite Press that published several titles by Presbyterian
authors.
This commitment to serve was also applied in Ribeirão Preto,
Taguatinga and Brasilia, where other bookstores were founded.
Another important commitment of these first missionaries was the
decision of not planting churches in cities where other historical
denominations were already present.
Because of this, they planted
churches in Valinhos, Sertãozinho and in certain “empty neigborhoods” of
Jundiaí, Ribeirão Preto, Campinas and São Paulo.
18
Today, the Evangelical Mennonite Churches that are affiliated to
the EMC, and that is the denomination with which I am presently working,
have 28 local churches with approximately 1,900 members.
are regionally administered by Districts.
These churches
They sustain a seminary, an
elementary school, a junior high school, and a medical center.
Thus, the basic characteristics of the EMC (not being aggressive
in evangelization, not duplicating efforts and being committed to serve)
are essentials to understand the denomination.
Furthermore, the presence and work of the foreign missionaries
within the EMC was not done according to any missionary strategy or
planning.
The feeling we have looking back to the EMC´s history is that,
each one of the missionaries came to Brazil to do what they wanted to
do, where they wanted to do it, and the way they wanted to do it.
This
is why the EMC has presently 28 churches distributed among 15 cities and
seven states, covering almost 40% of the National territory.
The way that the EMC started, grew and is today, must be
understood looking to regional characteristics.
five regions that are geographically limited.
The EMC is formed by
Region I is formed by
seven local churches, with about 730 church members. These churches were
planted by the work of missionaries, all of them are twenty or more
years old, and none of them have more than 200 church members.
Three of
these churches have strong Baptist influence (Interlagos, Sertãozinho
and Ribeirão Preto) one has Presbyterian influence, (Campinas), one has
19
Pentecostal influence (Valinhos), and two are searching for their
identity (Lapa and Vila Guaraní).
Region I has a very good level of income and it is the most
healthy region in the Brazilian context and inside the EMC.
The second Region is formed by eight local churches located in
the Paraná and Santa Catarina.
These churches have about 350 church
members, most of them with some family relation with the first
Mennonites.
This association gives these churches some ethnic
characteristic and some feeling that they are better Mennonites then
others.
It can be seen in the survey (especially Tables A124, A125 and
A126)1 where Region II is seeing itself as good Christians (Table A19
and A10).
Region III is formed by six local churches located in the state
Goiás and in the District Federal.
They have about 350 church members
and these churches were formed both by missionary effort and the
migration process, especially with Mennonite people coming from Region
IV.
The missionaries dedicated themselves especially to the bookstores
(Taguatinga and Brasilia).
Almost all churches
in Region III are
influenced by the Pentecostal and New-Pentecostal movement, and
presently they are pushing the entire denomination to get involved in a
missionary project of sending people to Mozambique (Africa).
1
All tables are in the second part of this Final Project,
exception for four tables related to Hopewell’s typology that are placed
in the first part of this Final Project.
20
The fourth Region was formed by a man who rebelled against the
denominational way of doing mission.
He came to Brazil with the goal to
evangelize Indians, started a mission in Araguacema, and a few years
later, killed a girl and committed suicide.
Because of this scandal,
the EMC assumed the responsibility over the churches in this Region.
Five churches form Region IV and they have almost 250 members.
In Region IV is located all of the educational effort of the
EMC.
There are three schools (Araguacema, Redenção and Conceição do
Araguaia) that are supported by money coming from outside (USA, Canada
and Germany).
The level of the EMC´s involvement in these school is
very low.
Because of the history of Region III, many problems involving
pastors and churches came up, and because the churches of Region III,
are formed by a couple of pastors coming from Region II, the former
Regions are actually assuming a paternalistic attitude toward Region IV,
considering it as its “missionary field.”
Region V was formed by three small churches, but one of them was
recently closed.
These churches are, in part, the fruit of the
Mennonite Central Committee’s work in the Northeast part of Brazil
(State of Pernambuco), but planting churches is not the primary task of
MCC in the region.
These churches have been shaped Baptist influence.
All this information is helpful to better understand the EMC’s
characteristics, in particular helping to analyze the data that came
21
from the survey which is shown in the next chapter, where church members
describe what they think about their church.
CHAPTER 3
INTERPRETING THE DATA FROM EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH IN BRAZIL
The analysis of the data gathered from the EMC leads us to make
the following conclusions about the EMC's identity and mission.
A Family Church
The gender demographics of the EMC falls into a two thirds/one
third split: 63.71% women and 35.31% men.
Table A2 demonstrates some
differences on gender composition for each the EMC Region.
The highest
level of female membership belongs to Region IV and the lowest to Region
III.
Analyzing the historical development of the churches in both
Regions along with social and economic factors, we can conclude that, in
the Region IV the higher percentage of women in the church is
attributable to the lack of employment opportunities.
Most male youth
move to the nearest urban center (Goiânia and Brasilia), where their
opportunities to study and to work are much better.
This migration
process (that is very evident in the EMC churches belonging to the
Region III, where many church members came from Region IV), produced an
unbalanced gender composition, giving to Region III and IV the extreme
positions.
Considering the balance between men and women in the Brazilian
22
23
demographic composition,1 leads me to this question: Why the EMC is
formed predominantly by women, and does not reflect the demographic
context?
This first question leads us to other factors that give us some
clues to understanding one of the central aspects of EMC identity: it is
a family church.
1
In Brazil, the demographic composition is 47.9% men and 52.1%
women according to Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística IBGE, "Características do Domicílio: Pessoas Moradoras, Por Área
Pesquisada, Segundo o Sexo e o Nível de Instrução," Chapter 33, Table
33.14, 1987/88.
24
The analysis of the family typology2 shows that the EMC is
formed predominantly by families (adding all the values for married and
remarried in the Table A4 we have 48.99%) that can be considered as
"traditional families."3 The other 36.33% are singles.
The analysis of
the data from Table A4 will give us some other clues to understand the
EMC’s Regions membership.
The lowest level of singles living with their
parents is in the Region I, which is the most industrialized of all
Regions.
In this Region we also have the highest level of singles not
living with their parents (Table A4, 4.84%).
On the other hand, among
those who are single living with their parents in the Region IV, 81.82%
2
The typology employed was developed by Marcos Roberto Inhauser
and Suely Zanetti Inhauser and is employed at PROFORMA: Programa de
Fortalecimento Matrimonial - a kind of Family Enrichment Program. It was
developed from the readings and adaptations of many sources. Some of
them are: Lynn Hoffman, Fundamentos de la Terapia Familiar: Un Marco
Conceptual para el Cambio de Sistemas, trans. Juan José Utrilla (México:
Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1992), 72-103; Salvador Minuchin, Families
and Family Therapy,(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969);
Nathaniel Ross, "Domination-Submission Patterns in the Patriarchal
Family Structure," Father and Child: Developmental and Clinical
Perspectives, Stanley H. Cath, Alan R. Gurwitt and John Munder Ross,
eds. (New York and Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1982), 523- 542; Robert K.
Kelley, Courtship, Marriage, and the Family, 3rd ed. (New York, San
Diego, Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
Inc.,1979), 308-314; Robert Blood and Margareth Blood, Marriage, 3rd ed.
(New York and London: The Free Press and Collier MacMillan Publishers,
1978). According to this typology there are basically three types of
families: Dictatorial, Democratic and Anarchic. The Dictatorial can be
divided in two sub types: Matriarchal and Patriarchal, depending on who
is the boss in the family system. The Democratic model develops an
interactive model of decisions, including all family members in the
decision process. Finally, the Anarchic model is the one where family
members make decisions by themselves without major concern for the
implications of them on the other family members.
3
Formed by father and mother living together, with children that
may or may not live at home.
25
are women (crossing Table A4 with A2), which supports the affirmation
about male youth moving to other urban centers.4
The high level of family presence in the church membership
reflects another characteristic: The EMC is a denomination that is not
open to divorced, single parents and widows.
Analyzing the data in
Table A4, we will find that only 8.98% of church members are people that
do not belong to “traditional families”, but they are divorced not
remarried, single parents or widows.
This closeness to non-traditional
families is very high in the Region IV, where, statiscally there are no
single members that is, divorced or single parents.5
4
In Region I this percentage is 67.60%; Region II is 55.56% and
Region III is 57.14%.
5
Later, when I will discuss the Hopewell’s typology, this aspect
can be better understood by the Canonic typology of Region IV.
26
A Young Church
Table A3 shows that 12.10% are under 18 years old, 30.10%6 under
25, 42.50% under 30, and 55.60% under 35.
Nevertheless, the data from
Table A3 surprisingly demonstrates that Region III lacks members between
14 and 18 years old and above 51.
These data show a Region that,
probably, is targeting adults and are not as open to children, teens and
elders.
Through my participatory observation I must say that this
characteristic is not conscious or planned, but it is a fruit of the way
they worship and handle church programs, with little attention to
children, teens and elders.
Theologically, one of the possible reasons for this is the
emphasis that Anabaptists have on the believers church, and because they
refuse to practice infant baptism.
In this way they are sending a “null
curricula” that children are not important in the church.
These data are in harmony with the Brazilian demographic
profile, which evidences that most of the population is formed by young
people.7
Although the EMC is formed by young people, if these data are
compared with Table A6 which shows how long church members have been
converted, this conclusion becomes obvious: Even though the EMC is
formed by young people, 46.37% of them have been converted at least for
10 years and 68.87% have been converted at least for five years.
6
7
These are cumulative data.
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatísticas - IBGE,
Diretoria de Pesquisas, Departamento de Emprego e Rendimento, Pesquisa
Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios.
27
A Non-Evangelistic Church
The previous data are confirmed by Table A7 which shows that
61.60% of church members have been affiliated with the EMC for more than
five years and 52% more than ten years.
during the last year.
Only 5.87% became members
According to these data, we can say that the most
effective Regions to receive new members are Region I and IV, because
they have the highest percentage of new church members.
But Region IV
has the highest level of people with five or more years of membership.
According to Brazilian Protestant terminology, to be converted
is to come from the Roman Catholic Church, or any Afro-Brazilian
Religion and to become part of an evangelical church.
A look at Table
A11 shows that 35.29% of the EMC church members came from the Roman
Catholic Church, 1.38% came from Afro-Brazilian religions (Umbanda,
Quimbanda and Condomblé), but 17.30% came from other traditional
evangelical churches by transfer, and 4.50% came from Pentecostal
churches.
This leads us to look at the data linking Table A6 and A11.
Among those who have been member for less than one year, only 41.17%
came to this church by conversion.
All others came by transfer (it
represents 2.43% of church membership).
Among those who have been
members for less than five years, 53.92% came by conversion, however, it
is not possible to determine whether or not they were converted by an
evangelistic ministry of the EMC.
28
This shows that the emphasis on evangelism is very low at the
EMC.
This can also be seen in the following data coming from Table A12:
Among converted, 19.72% came to church because a relative brought them,
16.61% because a friend invited them, 3.11% because the pastor invited
them, 6.93% came because they were facing some personal need, and 14.87
were born in the EMC.
Region IV presents the highest percentage of
members that were born in the EMC (23.33%), that came to church by
themselves (33.33%) and that a personal need brought them to the church
(13.34%).
These data show that evangelistic ministry of this Region is
almost nill.
Another aspect is the low percentage of church members that were
converted by radio and TV evangelistic programs.
are fruits of this effort.
Only 0.34% of the EMC
The two most effective methods of evangelism
are the invitation of friends (16.61%) and invitation of relatives
(19.72%).
This last aspect must be understood in connection with the
family characteristic of the EMC.
This lack of evidence of evangelistic activity may be understood
in light of other data.
In the Table A28, only 65.39%
of church
members understand that the Great Commission is the major reason for
church life.
It means that 34.61% of them do not see evangelism as the
major reason for church life (13.49% that say "no" plus 21.12% that did
not answer, which means that they have no clarity on this matter).
These data are confirmed by Table A29 where 43.95% affirm that they have
not been involved in evangelistic and mission activities in the last
29
year.
In this regard, according to Table A29, Region I is the least
effective in inviting non-churchgoers (40.69%), and the most effective
is Region III (73.08%).
These data are confirmed by Table A30 which
shows that, in the last six months, Region I is the least effective in
inviting people (77.24%), but the most effective in the last six months
is the region IV (96.67%).
Nevertheless, the EMC church members invite non-churchgoers to
come to church.
This kind of "evangelism" is done by 80.96% of them.
Compared to Table A12, 39.44% of them came to church because they were
invited by relatives, friends and pastors, and only 1.38% of them came
by some evangelistic campaign or radio/television program (0.34%).
In
other words, most of them came by invitation or by themselves and they
are now reproducing the methods that were effective for them.
Although evangelism is not a strong characteristic, Table A31,
86.15% will support a decision to give 10% of their personal income to
fulfil this aspect of church life.
More than this, they are also
willing to accept less attention from their pastor if s/he is giving
more time to support newcomers (Table A32, 86.15% of the church
members), and a number are willing to invite newcomers to have dinner
with them, as a way to get them involved in the church (Table A33).
Region I is less willing to participate economically to develop an
evangelistic ministry.
It is the least willing to have less pastoral
attention if the pastor is spending time with prospective church
30
members, and the least likely to invite people to have a dinner as a way
to get new church goers involved in the church (Table A33, 86.21%).
It is also significant that 56.86% say that they spontaneously
introduced themselves to visitors at church (Table A34), 77.16% are
presently praying for someone that does not belong to church (Table
A35), 79.58% shared their faith in Jesus Christ with someone else (Table
A42) and 34.61% would be willing to be part of a planting church
strategy (Table A43).
These considerations leads us to two conclusions which at first
appear contradictory: The EMC is not involved in evangelism and the EMC
members are very willing to participate in evangelistic activities.
If
these two conclusions are correct, how may they be harmonized?.
There are data that may shed light on this matter.
Table A36
shows that church members feel that church structure for evangelism is
poor or nonexistent (65.39% of them), and that the emphasis that church
leadership gives to this area is medium or low (76%, Table A41).
Furthermore, they feel that the church is not very involved in
evangelization (50.60%, Table A38).
Thus, church members are willing to get more involved in
evangelism, but they feel that the EMC structure and programs do not
emphasize it.
weak.
For this reason they feel that church evangelism is very
Nevertheless, this conclusion conflicts with the data from Table
A43: Only 34.61% of them would be willing to be involved in starting a
new church.
In other words, they want more evangelism but they do not
31
want to move out to a new church started by their actions.
More than
this, only 66.08% (Table A39) feel that the EMC is intentionally
dedicated to reach out people.
A Non-committed Church
A way to understand the previous conclusions is by analyzing the
data about member commitment to church life and neighbors.
Table A10
shows that 72.68% of the EMC members consider themselves as having an
average level of Christian life (they evaluate themselves between 5 and
8 points in a scale 0 to 10), and 37.37% (on Table A8) are not very
committed to church activities.
Table A8 also shows that 59.86%
consider themselves as committed to church activities and having some
responsibilities in church life.
The reasons they are involved vary
from "I like the worship service" (16.95%) to "this church is the best
place for my family" (31.14%) and "the doctrine" (13.49%, Table A13).
If we look at the same data to see the regional characteristics for
membership motivation, we may conclude that, for Region IV, the worship
service is the least important aspect for church affiliation while the
strongest motivation is the family environment of the churches.
Another aspect that must be considered is that doctrine is not
the great motivation for membership, being almost one third of the value
for family environment motivation (Table A13).
From those who consider themselves as not coming regularly to
32
church, the indicated reasons for coming are "the doctrine"8 (16.66%)
and "this church is the best place for my family" (27.77%).
From those
who consider themselves as coming regularly but having no responsibility
in the church life, 23.59% affirm that they come because of the worship
service, none of them come because of the pastor, 42.69% because it is
the best place for their families, 4.49% because it is convenient,
10.11% because of doctrine, and 13.48% for any other reason.
Among
those who consider themselves as having responsibilities in church life,
12.13% come because of worship service, 1.15% because of the pastor,
1.73% because of denomination, 26.01% because it is the best place for
their families, 15.02% because of doctrine and 32.37% for any other
reason.
According to Table A118, 1.03% affirm that the EMC is a
denomination without life and plans, 10.73% affirm that it has few signs
of life and some plans of action, 41.18% affirm that it has a reasonable
level of life signs and some good plans, while 38.07% affirm that these
levels are very high.
There are no significant differences between these three groups
in their motivation to belong/participate in the church.
Nevertheless,
it is very significant that, among those who have some responsibility in
the church, only 1.73% come because of denomination and 15.02% because
of doctrine.
In other words, only 16.57% of members with commitment and
responsibility have an Anabaptist/Mennonite concern and commitment.
8
Comparing data from Table A8 and A13.
33
Analyzing the data from Table A8 crossed with Table A96, we
discover that, among those who presently do not have any responsibility,
in the past 10.11% received responsibilities in the first six months
they were members, 11.23% between six months and one year, 12.35%
between one and two years, 7.86 between three and five years, and 12.73%
after five years of membership.
in the church.
But 35.95% never had any responsibility
Now, crossing the data about those who presently have
responsibilities in the church, 28.90% received their first
responsibility in the first six months of church membership, 16.18%
between six months and one year, 20.80% between one and two years,
11,56% between three and four years, and 13.29% after five.
It shows that the EMC has no problem opening its doors to new
members assuming responsibilities, doing it at the very beginning of the
membership.
Furthermore, among those who consider themselves as coming
regularly to church services and having responsibilities in the church,
28.90% received their first responsibility at the first six months.
The
same data for those who presently do not have any responsibility, only
10.11% received their first responsibility in the first six months of
membership. These data lead us to conclude that assuming
responsibilities in the church in the beginning of the membership is a
way to have members more committed to church life.
Crossing the data with those who come regularly and have some
responsibility in the church with Table A106, 25.43% received a clear
description of the responsibility they were assuming, 8.09% received
34
appropriated training, 20.23% received the name of somebody that could
help and guide them, 4.62% received the date when their responsibility
would end, and 31.21% had a clear understanding of their role and the
importance of their responsibility.
Linking Table A8's information with Table A118, of those who
consider themselves as coming regularly but do not have any
responsibility in the church, 1.12% affirm that the EMC is a
denomination without life and plans, 6.74% affirm that it has few life
signs and some plans of action, 34.83% that it has reasonable level of
life and some good plans of action, and 50.69% affirm that the EMC has
very high levels of life signs and good plans.
On the other hand, among
those who consider themselves as coming regularly and having some
responsibility in the church, only 0.57% affirm that the EMC has no life
signs, 12.13% affirm that it has few life signs, 46.24% affirm that it
has reasonable level of life signs, and 34.10% affirm that the EMC is an
exciting denomination, full of good plans.
Linked with Table A1199 those who have responsibility in the
church, consider that the denomination is formed by local churches that
have some level of affinity between them (50.28%) and 25.43% consider
9
Table A119 considered in itself shows that 2.07% affirm that
the EMC is an association of local churches without affinity between
them, 8.31% affirm that it is an association of local churches that have
a minimum of affinity between them, 45.32% believe there is a reasonable
level of affinity, and 28.58% see a high level of affinity. In this
regard, Region IV looks like being the most favorable in accepting that
the EMC has affinity among its churches, and Region I is the most
critical about it.
35
that the denomination is formed by local churches that have a high level
of affinity between them.
Nevertheless, 5.20% consider that the
denomination is seeking its identity, 26.56% consider that the
denomination is seeking its identity by rescuing Anabaptist/Mennonite
history and doctrines, and 51.44% that the denomination already has its
own identity (Table A120).
Furthermore, if it is linked with Table A124, the data are:
7.51% understand that the EMC has nothing of Anabaptist/Mennonite
tradition, 16.18%% understand that the church has very little of
Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition, 13.29% understand that the church has a
significant level of Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition, and 26.01%
understand they are very committed to Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition.10
All these data lead us to conclude that the level of commitment
of the EMC church members with the denomination and church life is weak,
not based on the principles of the denomination, but much more for some
sentimental or pragmatic reason, rather than for theological reasons.
A Growing Church
10
Table A124 considered in itself shows that 5.53% consider that
the EMC has absolutely nothing to do with regards to the
Anabaptist/Mennonite doctrines, 13.14% affirm that it has something to
do with, 21.80% affirm that it has very much to do with, and 23.19
affirm that it is very committed to Anabaptist/Mennonite doctrines.
Looking to the regional understanding, Region II is the one that
understands that the EMC lacks on have a high level of commitment with
the Anabaptist/Mennonite doctrines. In certain way, it shows that,
because Region II is formed basically by churches that have its roots on
the first Mennonites that came to Brazil, they feel themselves as better
Mennonites than others.
36
According to Table A79, the potential for church growth is
considered between moderate and excellent by 76.82%, and considered as
low and poor by 12.10%.
However, it is quite significant that 11.08% do
not have a clear position on this matter.
If they are added to those
who feel that the potential is low and poor, we have 22.18% probably not
committed to church growth.
Even so, 79.58% (Table A80) have the
disposition to change Sunday School or worship service if it helps to
bring new people to church.
The fact of 79.58% that all church members
are willing to sacrifice their accustomed time for Sunday School and
worship service to bring new people (Table A80) is very important since
it demonstrates they are concerned about it.
They also affirm that the
EMC has specific plans for church growth (66.78%, Table A83).
For
Sunday School, the attendance is increasing (51.55%, Table A76) because
it is making an effort to bring new people (71.62%, Table A74).
In the
mission area 42.56% of the members (Table A86) feel that the amount of
time, efforts and money expended are exactly right if one considers the
opportunities that the EMC has.
Nevertheless they also feel that there
is something lacking in order to grow (64.35%, Table A84).
What is lacking is not an absence of invitations to people.
They feel that their strategy of inviting people is working fairly well
(50.86%, Table A98) and they are inviting friends (24.91% Table A62),
neighbors (25.95%), job colleagues (11.07%), relatives (12.49%), and
known persons (7.62%) and colleagues from their school (5.54%).
37
It is not the building that is an obstacle for church growth:
87.59% understand that visitors will have a neutral or positive feeling
about church building (Table A88), even though 20.42% feel that church
growth will create problems fitting all of them into the church services
(Table A89).11
Another point that cannot be cited as something that is lacking
in the church and that impedes church growth is the
the laity.
participation of
The church commitment to the priesthood of all believers is
seen as moderate by 50.86% and as high by 22.15% of them (Table A99).
Thirty-four percent of the members affirm that they often participate in
the church decision making process (Table A51), while 51.55% affirm that
their participation is nill, little or occasional.
Among those who have
occasional, little or nill participation in the decision making process
of the church, 57.78% want to have more participation (Table A51 crossed
with Table A52).
An answer to the question of what is lacking for church growth
is given by Table A100, where 2.42% affirm that they neither know nor
want to know which spiritual gift they have; 47.41% affirm that they do
not know which are their spiritual gifts but they want to know and
11.07% affirm they do know which are their spiritual gifts and they
would were use them if they were invited.
11
Only 29.41% of church members
In this regard, Region III seems to be the Region that
presently faces problem with church building (19.32%, Table A89),
because they are inadequate for the needs they actually have. On the
other hand, Region II is the one that has better buildings to fit church
present needs.
38
affirm that they do know which are their spiritual gifts and that they
are presently ministering in the church according to them.
In other words, 60.90% of church members are not working
properly - they are not ministering according to their spiritual
abilities.
This conclusion leads us to another conclusion:
A Gifted Unministering Church
If 49.83% of church members do not know what their spiritual
gifts are, and 60.90% are not ministering according to their spiritual
abilities, and 9.69% did not answer this question (which tempts me to
include them among those who do not know their spiritual gifts) we
probably have 70.59% of church members doing nothing or doing something
that is not according to their spiritual gifts.
If 70.59% of them do not know or act according to their
spiritual gifts, how can they say that 56.51% have some responsibility
in the church?12 Crossing Table A100 and A103 we will be surprised by
the data that among those who do not know their gifts and do not want to
know which they are, 75.00% believe that their ministry help the church
to accomplish its mission and goals.
12
Linking Table A100 with Table A101.
39
In certain level it can be explained by the fact that the EMC is
a church radically dedicated to the priesthood of all believers, where
everybody is supposed to do everything in the church.13
13
Although the
In certain way EMC is an example of Greg Ogden's ideas
expressed in his book The New Reformation - Returning the Ministry to
the People of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990).
Based on Luther's idea of the priesthood of all believers, he says that
Reformation is an unfinished business, and the unfinished agenda of the
Reformation is the application in all its consequences of the priesthood
of all believers. Affirming that church is "people focused" organism.
For him, the church became entrapped in institutionalism, working as a
corporation, a hierarchical structure, where the pastor belongs to a
different caste. To give theological foundation to these statements, the
author develops a section where he presents the church as organism,
presenting a Christological perspective of the church, where Christ is
the life, which means the head of the church and the ultimate authority.
Because Christians who form the church belong to Christ, they also
belong to each other, in such way that there is no distinction by social
class, hierarchic structure, economic situation or any other kind of
power difference. The ministry in the church does not belong to a few
people but to the people of God, because all of them are into the same
level, have the same rights, blessings, and duties. He recognizes that
church needs a level of "institution" that is "the need for organization
within the organism of the body of Christ." Nevertheless, the
institution became institutionalism, creating boundaries for the
ministry. Affirming that the church is One People and One Ministry,
Ogden states that all believers have a ministry in the church, and not
just the "priests" or "clergy." He has some problem using the words,
because, for him, every time that one of these words is used, an
inherent division appears, because they contrast priests and clergy with
laity, establishing hierarchy. Ogden affirms that the ministry is a
matter of organism, not a matter of ordained ministry, because God has
provided spiritual gifts for all believers and not only for a few among
others. Ogden does a theological formulation on the Holy Spirit’s gifts,
working on each of the gifts that are listed in the New Testament, and
shows how they work inside the body. Nevertheless, Ogden struggles quite
a bit with the figure of the pastor. Denying the preeminence of the
pastor inside the church as organism, he works the idea of pastors as
equippers for the ministry. Instead of doing all the ministry of the
church by themselves, developing a counterproductive ministry, pastors
must work in such way that they help all church members to do their own
job, according to the spiritual gift they have. They are not the
"orchestra-person" who does everything, but an "orchestra-conductor."
Ogden affirms that ordination is the official recognition of the
40
church stresses the priesthood of all believers, church members are not
ministering according to their spiritual gifts.
In a systemic approach,
one can say that this is a very dysfunctional system, because their
elements are not working properly and at their full abilities.
In order to better understand these data, a survey of spiritual
gifts was applied.14
A Loving Church
The data from Table A16 through A27 show that the EMC is a
church with a high level of love and care.
According to Table A16, in
the last week, 70.58% affirm that they did something intentionally to
show their love for someone, and 69.55% affirm that they said "I love
you" or hugged somebody (Table A18).
This high level of love demonstration is followed by several
concrete actions: 84.77% prayed for someone out of their family circle
(Table A17), 55.01% did something in an anonymous way to show their love
and care (Table A22), 43.49% contacted needy people (Table A19) and
72.31% usually volunteer themselves to help others (Table A20) and
55.01% can remember an action they did in the last month to help needy
people (Table A24).
leadership authority, to serve "among and for the people." The problem
with most of the local churches belonging to the EMC is that they had no
distinction between spiritually gifted people and those not gifted.
14
This survey was done using my research on spiritual gifts, and
I will analyze it in the Chapter 4 of this Project.
41
Church members are also very friendly.
From Table A21, 31.48%
remember that colleagues or friends asked their help in the last month,
and 64.01% affirm that somebody told them how the friendship that links
them is very important (Table A26).
This kind of "friendly disposition"
among church members and from these to outsiders is facilitated by the
ready disposition to say "I am sorry" or "forgive me" (Table A23) and to
forgive someone by whom one was wounded (Table A30).
Further, church
members are very conscious of the importance of others in their own
lives, especially when they are going through crises and problems (Table
A27).
This "friendly disposition" is shown in the church activities.
From Table A58 we discover that 60.98% think that visitors will feel a
part of the congregation because church members will take the initiative
to welcome them.
A Low Class Church
Table A5 shows that, on average, the EMC church members have a
elementary school (40.83%) and high school (46.02%) level of education.
This level is higher than for the average Brazilian academic level.15
In addition, 7.26% of members with college level is also higher than the
15
Only 6.5% of Brazilians have completed High School,
5.2%
have a College Degree, and 0.26% have a Masters Degree or a Doctorate.
Instituto Nacional de Geografia e Esatística - IBGE, "Diretoria de
Pesquisas, Departamento de Índices de Preços: Pesquisa de Orçamentos
Familiares" (1987/88).
42
Brazilian average.
Thus, in the church, educational level is little
higher than the Brazilian norm.
The economic level of church members is low.
From Table A47 we
have that 29.41% earn less than U$ 100.00 monthly, and 11.67% earn less
than U$ 200.00 monthly, 9.68% earn between U$ 300.00 and U$ 499.00
monthly, 3.47% earn between U$500.00 and U$ 799.00 monthly, 1.0% earn
between U$ 800.00 and U$ 999.00 monthly and only 0.69% earn more that U$
2,000.00 monthly.16
These data place the EMC in the low-middle
Brazilian class.
A Worshiping Church
The survey shows that the most important aspect of church life
in the EMC is worship.
Eighty-three percent of church members attend
worship service every Sunday (Table A65) and 6.92% do so three times in
a month.
For them, the language employed in the worship is clear and
understandable (89.97%, Table A64) and it is always inspiring
(32.17%,
Table A57) and normally it has some things that are edifying (44.29%,
Table A57), having a good balance between what is familiar and what is
spontaneous (35.98%%, Table A59) and always presents something new (24%,
Table A59).
These aspects contribute to a pleasant family meeting
(40.86%%, Table A60).
16
The music in worship is inspiring for 49.13% of
Because of high level of inflation in the last twenty years,
is quite impossible to obtain credible data about levels of income.
Nevertheless, all Brazilian data show that 45% to 50% of Brazilians
receive no more than US$ 100.00 monthly. In some parts of Brazil, 78%
receive no more than US$ 100.00 (Ceará tem crescimento mas persiste a
miséria. Folha de São Paulo,(06/02/94), 14.
43
the members (Table A61) and the worship experience may be considered
pleasant (33.91%, Table A61).
The EMC is open to new liturgical ideas and programs (55.01%
affirm that they are moderately open and 33.57% that they are very open,
Table A63).
Members feel that 57.44% of church members are moderately
satisfied with the worship service (Table A53) and 51.21% affirm that
they personally are reasonably satisfied (Table A54).
They feel that
church members look forward to the worship service with very high
expectation (50.86%, Table A56) and they also do so (50.86%, Table A56).
A Theologically Uninstructed Church
The EMC supports the Mennonite Theological Center (hereafter
simply called as MTC) which provides theological education for the EMC
church members.
The MTC offered (since its foundation twelve years ago)
two Programs: The Basic Theological Program and the Advanced Theological
Program.
According to Table A14, 43,25% have never been enrolled in the
Basic Theological Program, and from those 56.57% that have been
enrolled, only 14.54% have finished the entire program and received its
certificate.
For the Advanced Theological Program, only one pastor has
concluded all the Program requirements and has graduated.
The theological level of the EMC can also be measured by the
theological training of its pastors.
Among 28 pastors (22 male pastors
and 6 female pastors), only four male pastors and one female pastor have
received formal theological training.
in the Advanced Theological Program.
Four of male pastors are enrolled
It shows that, for the EMC, the
44
theological formation of its pastors is not a priority.
Table A123
shows that for 56.75% church members, the EMC pastors have a good
preparation/ability to be pastors.
Thus, theological reflection and
education are not a strong point in the EMC identity.
A Socially Concerned Church
According to Table A113, 76.81% affirm that the EMC is concerned
about personal needs that church members face, and 73.35% affirm that
the church is also concerned about personal needs of the people outside
of the church (Table A114).
They also understand that social work which
attends to personal needs is an action supported by Biblical teachings
(65.05%, Table A115) and that it must be done in a way that shows love
and tells about Jesus Christ when there are opportunities for it
(62.28%, Table A116).
This position of openness goes further, affirming
that the church must be the salt of the earth and the light of the world
even in the political arena (57.79%, Table A117).
A Church for Others
The previous data, especially which comes from table A113 and
A114, linked with the historical background of the EMC, lead us to
conclude that, since the beginning, the EMC had high motivation to serve
others. The first missionaires started bookstores before they planted
any church because they wanted to serve the evangelical church in the
Campinas area. They did the same in Brasilia and Ribeirao Preto. They
also were very careful when they planned to start new churches, to look
45
for cities and neighborhoods that had no other evangelical church. This
was because they wanted to work in coordination and cooperation with
other established churches, and did not wanted to duplicate efforts.
These first concerns of being a church that does not duplicate
efforts, that has the commitment to serve other denominations and to
help needy people, are still present in the EMC and are one of the
highest motivations of being a church in the Brazilian context.
In conclusion, all these characteristics that were presented in
this chapter are not sufficient for a full understanding of the EMC. If
it is true that the EMC is a “church for others,” this church must be
equipped by the Holy Spirit to serve others. Therefore, the spiritual
gifts inventory will help us to better understand the EMC, and this will
be discussed in the next chapter.
46
CHAPTER 4
SPIRITUAL GIFTS AT EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH
One of the characteristics for the EMC identified in the
previous chapter is a “Gifted Unministering Church.” In order to better
understand this affirmation, a survey on Spiritual Gifts was applied and
a set of Tables in the volume of “Tables and Appendix” that start with
the letter “G”, give us data about spiritual gifts in the EMC, in the
Regions and in the churches that participated in the survey.
Looking at Table G17 (G17-7) we can find that the most present
spiritual gift in the EMC is the gift of faith (8.74%, with 110 people
reported having this gift).
The second is the gift of service (7.88%,
with 71 people having this one) and the third is the gift of teaching
(7.51% with 41 people).
This result must be considered carefully, in order to understand
the EMC way of ministering.
The result of having 110 people with the
spiritual gift of faith must be considered with some reserve.
show one of three possibilities.
It can
The first one, that this spiritual
gift is really present in the EMC life.
But, if it is true, and if it
is also true that this gift is different from the faith that is
necessary for salvation, we are talking about a special ability of
46
47
promoting actions of faith and God’s dependence among church members.
Thus, if it is true for the EMC, this church had to be a vibrant church,
very committed with evangelization and mission, a church with no fear of
taking risks.
But these are not characteristics of the EMC.
What we
really have is an apathetic church, over forty years old that has no
more than 1,900 members, without courage of assuming risky positions.
On the contrary, the decision process inside the church is very slow,
expending a considerable time in the process, avoiding risks and great
commitments.
It is a church that like to walk on the solid ground where
faith is not an essential element.
The second possibility is that the survey or the people confused
faith as spiritual gift with faith for daily Christian life.
If it is
true, what we have here is not a spiritual gift indicator, but an
affirmation of faith in Jesus Christ.
The third possibility is that the EMC church members do really
believe that they are gifted with faith.
If it is true, probably we
have here some narcisic element.
Personally I prefer the second option, because, by my pastoral
experience, my interviews with church members and my studies on the
subject, I have discovered that this confusion is very common.
In
addition to this, the definition of faith as spiritual gift, distinct
from faith for daily Christian life and faith for salvation, is a hard
task and it is an open task for theologians.
48
The second highest rated is the gift of service.
As it was
already said, this is one of the basic characteristics of the EMC.
The
denomination started with a strong commitment to serve other
denominations, and this priority still is present in church life.
Comparing the EMC with other denominations in Brazil, the EMC has a very
good level of Christian services to the whole community (three
bookstores, the third largest evangelical press in Brazil, three
schools, a Health Center, and many small projects of ministery).
Nevertheless this conclusion leads us to another question: The
EMC is a “church that serves” because it has many gifted people in this
area, or the EMC has many people gifted in this area because its
emphasis on service is very high?
This is a very theological and crucial question.
In other
words, the spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit according to the
Spirit free will, providing to the church the whole team of specialists
to perform spiritual tasks in order to edify the body of Christ, or it
is “produced” by the circumstances and particular emphasis of any
particular congregation or denomination? If the first affirmation is the
right one, how can we explain that the EMC has more people with faith
and service gifts, and does not have a balanced distribution of
spiritual gifts? It seems to me that this aspect requires further study
and development, but it is not my purpose in this Project.
The third gift of teaching is also worthy of consideration.
it is true that it has 7.51% report the teaching gift with 41 people
If
49
having this gift, what we have to say about the gift of performing
miracles that is present in 58 church members? This high level of people
attributing to themselves the power to perform miracles can be charged
to the Pentecostal and New-Pentecostal movements that have influenced
many churches and members in Brazil.
On the other hand, the gift of
teaching can be easily understood in the context of a church that
emphasis the “priesthood of all believers,” and where everybody is
supposed to do something in the church, and one of the most visible gift
is the gift of teaching.1
We are again facing the same theological question raised before:
Spiritual gifts are real gifts or products of some circumstances? The
EMC has a high level of teaching gift just because this church
emphasizes the priesthood of all believers, and, by consequence, the
teaching gift is high, or is it a demonstration of the free will of the
Holy Spirit providing this church with a higher level of masters?
Looking at the regional level, we will discover some important
aspects of the EMC and its Regions.
The only Region that has not faith
and service as the most present gifts, is the Region IV.
This one
reported the gift of knowledge (7.35%) and miracle (7.34% Table G22) as
the two most present gifts.
If we look to the local churches that form
this Region, Araguacema has seven people with the gift of knowledge
(Table G1), and Goianorte has two people (Table G4).
1
In the particular
Something that must be considered in this regard is that this
gift only appears in the general consideration of the gifts inside the
EMC (Table G22), but not in the Table for each Region.
50
case of Araguacema, it is my understanding that this church has a strong
narcisic element in the church members motivation to belong to this
particular community, and this result can explain, in part, why they are
this way.
On the other hand, because the Region IV is located in an
area of poverty and low level of formal education (Table A5), the belief
in some mystical powers and miracles is stressed.
Another aspect that must be considered is that, at Table G21,
Region IV has eight people with the gift of contribution, the same
number as for knowledge.
It is quite impressive because Region IV is
known in the EMC as the most dependent Region, receiving financial
support for the schools and to pay their pastors.
Furthermore, for many
years, pastors from this Region were complaining about money and church
leaders were murmuring about what churches have to pay for pastors and
the EMC.
Among the local churches, the IEM of Pinheirinho and Xaxim have
higher level of people with the gift of discernment (Table G11).
Analyzing these churches and the way their leadership behave inside the
EMC, I have discovered that these churches feel themselves as being in
charge of preserving the Anabaptist/Mennonite theology of the EMC.
Both
of them belong to Region II and have some ethnic elements in their
composition and leadership.
The previous considerations about spiritual gifts inside the
EMC, besides the questions raised concerning whether spiritual gifts are
real gifts or products of circumstance, bring up some other questions.
51
Do all people have the gift evangelization, act in the same way? Do all
people that have the gift of mercy, in the practical arena, do the same
things? What happens to one that holds a liberal theology, and the gift
of evangelization, compared to one that holds a conservative theology
and has the same gift?
In order to better understand this aspect, the following
analysis using four different typologies will help us to set some
guidelines on this matter and to know how the EMC fits into these
typologies.
CHAPTER 5
HOPEWELL'S TYPOLOGY
One of the goals of this Final Project was to discover some
typologies that fit in the EMC.
The first one to be considered here is
the Hopewell's typology.1
James Hopewell developed a set of elements to better understand
how congregations are, act and behave.
This set includes culture,
idiom, narrative, parish setting and parish stories.
For this Final Project I have used only the typology of world
view2 that uses the four following categories:
Canonic
Reliance upon an authoritative interpretation of a world pattern,
often considered God's revealed word or will, by which one
identifies one's essential life. The integrity of a pattern
requires that followers reject any gnosis of union with the pattern
but instead subordinate their selfhood to it. Characteristics of
the canonic orientation are similar to those of Frye's tragic
genre.3
1
James F. Hopewell, Congregation, Stories and Structures
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987): 57-62, 69.
2
Ibid., 67-88.
3
Ibid., 69.
52
53
Tragedy portrays the decay of life and the necessary sacrifice of
the self before resolution occurs. The self in tragedy, as in
romance, is heroic, but unlike the romantic hero, the tragic hero
submits to a harshly authentic world. No "deus ex machina" breaks
miraculously into the tragic scene. The divine is revealed largely
as the eternal law or word made plain only to the self subject to
it.4
Gnostic
Reliance upon an instructed process of a world that develops from
dissipation toward unity. The ultimate integrity of the world
requires the deepening consciousness of those involved in it's
systemic outworking and their rejection of alienating canonic
structures. Characteristics of the gnostic orientation are similar
to those of Frye's comic genre5...which essence ... is not humorous
incidents but happy ending.... Comedy projects a world that
ultimately integrates its seemingly antithetical elements. Its
directions is opposite to the disintegrative course of tragedy; it
moves from problem to solution ... life progress from a state of
crisis created by some illusion to a harmonious recovery brought
about discovering the true nature of the circumstances.6
Charismatic
Reliance upon data evidence of a transcendent spirit personally
encountered. The integrity of providence in the world requires
that empirical presumptions of an ordered world be disregarded and
supernatural irregularities instead be witnessed. Characteristics
of the charismatic orientation are similar to those of Frye's
romantic genre.7
In romance occurs a quest for the most desirable object - the
distant planet in science fiction, the beloved ghotic novels, the
lawful community in westerns. The hero or heroine leaves familiar
surroundings and embarks on a dangerous journey in which strange
things happen but a priceless reward is gained. Good and evil are
4
Ibid., 60.
5
Ibid., 69.
6
Ibid., 58.
7
Ibid., 69.
54
sharply delineated in romance, protagonists and antagonists clearly
displayed.8
Empiric
8
Ibid., 59.
55
Reliance upon data objectively verifiable through one's own five
senses. The integrity of one's own person requires realism about
the way things demonstrably work and the rejection of the
supernatural. Characteristics of the empiric orientation are
similar to those of Frye's ironic genre.9
In ironic stories, reputedly worthy persons come to naught and what
seem to be good plans go sour. Irony challenges heroic and
purposive interpretations of the world. Events that in other story
genres have sacred significance in irony have a natural
explanation. Miracles do not happen; pattern lose their design;
life is unjust, not justified by transcendent forces. ... In an
ironic setting one is freed only as one accepts the arbitrary
working of life and reaches out to a humanity common plight.10
The use of these four categories of Hopewell's typology will
lead us to categorize the EMC and its congregations according to some
elements that are shown in Table 1.
9
Ibid., 69.
10
Ibid., 61.
56
Table 1. Types of congregations and their characteristics11
CANONIC
GNOSTIC
CHARISMATIC
EMPIRIC
LEGALIST
PASTORAL
MYSTIC
RATIONAL
Type of
ecclesiology
Petrine
ecclesiology
Johanine
ecclesiology
Apollo's
ecclesiology
Pauline
ecclesiology
Literary genre
Tragic
Comic
Romantic
Ironic
Basic Gospel
inspiration
Matthew
John
Luke
Mark
Basic political King David
inspiration
King Solomon
Judges Period
King Saul
Narrative
Sacrifice
feature - Motif
Integration
Adventure
Testing
Narrative
feature Movement
Union toward
subordination
Subordination
toward union
Uniformity toward
variation
Variation toward
uniformity
Personal
Hubris
Surrender
Justification
Ignorance
Enlightment
Peace
Weakness
Tarrying
Empowerment
Bondage
Honesty
Love
Social
Vice
Righteousness
Judgment
Discord
Wisdom Harmony
Conventionality
Charisma
Transformation
Oppression
Justice
Community
Cosmic
Principalities
and powers
Passion
Kingdom
Illusion
Perpetuity
Absurdity
Process
Union
Signs
Day of the Lord
Science
Regularity
Authority
God's revealed
word and will
Intuition, esoteric
wisdom
Personally
manifested evidence
of God's immanence
Data objectively
verifiable through
one's five senses
Focus of
integrity
Scripture
Trustworthy cosmos
Providence of God
One's person
Inner awareness
Recognition of
God's blessings
Realism
Valued behavior Obedience
11
myself.
Adapted from Hopewell's book with some additions made by
57
The next table, Table 2 sets four types of ecclesiologies:
Petrine, Pauline, Johannine and Appoline.
known than the last one.
The first three are better
This ecclesiology is suggested by the
controversies that arose between Paul and Apollos.
This ecclesiology
has a charismatic profile and can be seen mostly in the Corinthian
church.
The two known Pauline letters to this church were written to
deal with the differences between Pauline and Appoline ecclesiologies.12
The basic theological formulation and emphasis of each of these
ecclesiologies is shown by the following Table.
Table 2. Church characterization according to theological approach13
LEGALIST
PASTORAL
MYSTIC
RATIONAL
God
Father
Ground/Force
Spirit
Ultimate concern
Jesus
Savior
Living Symbol
Lord
Teacher
Evil
Devil
Ignorance
Demons
Demoniac
Time
Linear
Cyclical
Pre-millennial
A-millennial
Bible
Word
Allegory
Program
History
Minister
Messenger
Guide
Exemplar
Enabler
Eucharistic
Memorial
Sacrament
Presence
Agape
Church
Covenant
Pilgrimage
Harvest
Fellowship
Gospel
Salvation
Consciousness
Power
Freedom
12
Raymond E. Brown, As Igrejas dos Apóstolos (São Paulo: Edições
Paulinas, 1986); Id., A Comunidade do Discípulo Amado (São Paulo:
Edições Paulinas, 1984)
13
myself.
Adapted from Hopewell's book with some additions made by
58
As a consequence of these ecclesiologies and theological
formulations that each one of them has, the Christian Education process
developed by each type of ecclesiology will be distinct.
it happens is shown by Table 3.
The way that
59
Table 3. Church Characterization by Christian Education Methods
LEGALIST
FORMAL CURRICULA
NULL CURRICULA
INFORMAL CURRICULA
BIBLE/TRADITION SOURCE
SOCIOLOGICAL SOURCE
EXPERIENTIAL SOURCE
EXPLICIT TEACHING
SYMBOLIC TEACHING
IMPLICIT TEACHING
Emphasis on the denominational
doctrines and its historical
foundations in order to give
authority
Emphasis on ritual and
priestly dresses as a way to
create an atmosphere of power
around the leaders.
Community based on Bible
studies
Observance of denominational
historical calendar
Uniformity of the doctrine
formulations for all members
requested
Obedience and subordination
PASTORAL
Emphasis on suffering and
consolation ministry
Emphasis on rites in order to
help to lessen sufferings
Community based on sharing
concerns and pains
Use the Bible as source to
understand suffering and to
consolation
Emphasis on the Holy Week
liturgical Calendar,
especially regard with Jesus
sufferings.
Counseling and consolation
Historical interest in martyrs
and others examples of
sufferings
MYSTIC
Emphasis on prayer, gifts and
miracles
Use the Bible as source for
increasing faith, spiritual
growth and assurance of the
supernatural
Historical interest on
supernatural events, miracles,
healing and extraordinary
provisions
Cross as symbol and Holy
Supper as God's channel to
alleviate pain.
Centrality of the prayer in
liturgical events with liberty
for emotions and feelings
expression
Emphasis on spirituality and
spiritual gifts
Emphasis on personal
testimonies of supernatural
experiences
Bible studies as a way to
achieve superior knowledge,
with emphasis on allegorical
interpretation
Communion established by the
variety of gifts, experiences
and testimonies
Bible studies as source for
faith improvement where prayer
in most of the cases is more
important than Bible.
Vigils and fasting are
encouraged
Charismatic leaders where
power is based on spiritual
life shown through time in
prayer and healing ability
RATIONAL
Emphasis on theology as
rational formulation of faith
Rational worship where
emotions and feelings are
avoided
Bible as source of revelation
as rational understanding
about God
Sermon as the highest point of
the liturgical events
Historical interest on History
of Theology and Philosophy and
great theologians
Leadership based in the
ability to explain Bible and
to teach people
Community based on reflection
and rational critics
Ecumenical emphasis through
tolerance
Strong sense of realism and
pragmatism
Social concern
Another aspect that can be analyzed by Hopewell's typology
regards the rational and emotional elements.
Table 4 shows that the
pair of Empiric/Canonic emphasizes a rational ecclesiological approach,
and the pair of Gnostic/Charismatic emphasizes an emotional
ecclesiological approach.
The same Table 4 shows that the pair of
60
Empiric/Gnostic emphasizes what God does through human beings and the
pair of Canonic/Charismatic emphasizes what God does in spite of human
beings.
In other words, the first pair puts human beings as active
elements and the second pair puts human beings as passive elements.
In
the first set, human beings are responsible for actions that reveal
God's purposes, and in the second one, human beings are subjects of
God's actions.
Table 4. The Four World Views and Their Positions and Relations
EMPIRIC/CANONIC
Emphasizes the rational
element of faith
EMPIRIC
RATIONAL
Search for a rational
explanation for everything
Sympathetic to Liberation
Theology
Try to demystify any mystic
interpretation of the world
Develops the ministry of
conscientization
Has a high level of political
awareness
Loves the prophetic literature
of the Old Testament because
of the political content
There is no hope for the world
CANONIC
LEGALIST
Has an authoritative behavior
Develops the ministry of
indoctrination
Is conservative
Sympathetic to biblical
fundamentalism
Likes the Pentateuch and the
Ten Commandments
Emphasizes the priesthood
The world is under God's
control
CANONIC/CHARISMATIC
Emphasizes God's action in
spite of human beings
EMPIRIC/GNOSTIC
Emphasizes God's action
through human beings
GNOSTIC
PASTORAL
Has a pastoral behavior
Sympathetic to Theology of
feelings
Develops the ministry of
consolation
Believes in the power of
positive thinking
Loves to read the Psalms
Values human beings above all
God is in the world
CHARISMATIC
MYSTIC
Spiritualizes everything
Emphasizes healings and
miracles
Develops the ministry of
praying
Loves the histories of
CHARISMATIC/GNOSTIC
Emphasizes emotional elements
of the faith
61
participation
miracles and healings in the
Bible
God interferes in everything
and everybody
There is a hope for the world
The EMC Typology
The results of Hopewell's world view test applied to the EMC14
are shown by Table 4.
According to Table H17, the EMC can be characterized as a
Petrine/Apolline church, where sacrifice and adventure go hand-in hand.
The union comes from subordination because of the Canonic element, but
also the EMC has an inclination to search uniformity toward variation,
both of them in harmony with the Word of God.
The Canonic theological approach emphasizes God as Father and
church as covenant.
This aspect is highly valued in the Anabaptist
Theology, that emphasizes church as covenant.
The Charismatic
emphasizes God as Spirit and church as harvest.15
These aspects can be found in the EMC life.
It is true that the
EMC believes that the Bible is the Word of God, and every church member
must obey it integrally.
The concept of radical discipleship, an
Anabaptist characteristic, is sometimes associated with Fundamentalism.
Even though church members are open to new and different ideas, the
14
A translation was done and was tested several times with
couples participating at the Marriage Enrichment Program - PROFORMA that
my wife and I lead. After these tests, a revised version was given to
the EMC church members and the results were shared with the whole
denomination at the National Conference.
15
According to Table 2
62
need for Bible studies, the search for consensus, the variety of
theological and practical issues, show that a kind of "flexible
uniformity" is present in the EMC daily life.
The fact that the EMC is formed by a high number of traditional
families,can explain to an extent why the EMC stresses the theological
idea of God as Father.16
Using a psychanalytical approach to analyze
it, we can show that some Oedipal element is present in the church,17
allowing identification between church members.
In this sense, the EMC
local churches function as “extended families”.
Besides this, the data
that show that the EMC local churches are the best place for their
families18 show that the majority of church members are looking for and
finding at the EMC a place where they can find the "family environment"
that they lack or desire.
Thus, the conclusion is that the EMC is
formed by some Oedipical motivation and some level of psychological
transference.
16
Something that attracted my attention is that, most of the
public prayers in the church start by saying "Heavenly Father" or
"Beloved Father."
17
Stanley H. Cath, Alan R. Gurwitt and John Munder Ross, eds.,
Father and Child, (New York: Basil Blackwell Inc., 1982), especially the
chapter of Ana-Ruzzio Rizzuto, "The Father and the Child's
Representation of God: A Developmental Approach," 357-382; Paul
Schwaber, "The Patriarchal Tradition: Creation and Fathering in
Genesis," 383-398 and Nathaniel Ross, "Domination-Submission in the
Patriarchal Family Structure," 523-534. Also David E. Scharff, M.D. and
Jill Savege Scharff, M.D., eds., Object Relations Family Therapy,
Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1991), especially the
chapters of "Relevance of Group Relations Theory and Experience," 127148 and "Transference and Countertransference," 201-226.
18
Table A11.
63
Although it is true for the general overview of the EMC, looking
at regional and local levels, we can find another motivations to belong
to the EMC churhes.
As it was pointed before, some signs of narcisic
motivation can be found when we analyze the data coming from the
Spiritual Gifts Test.
In some extent, those who are Canonic, they are proud because
they believe they know the will of God and His commandments.19
These
people, because they are so good obeying God, they know the right way to
do everything and they must participate in every church decision.
These
people only work well if they are in charge of the leadership.
The Narcisic churches are very complex, full of power struggles,
quarrels and gossip.
the ministry.
The pastors in these churches suffer to develop
Using a systemic approach, they cannot have alliance with
anyone, because they are always in a perverse triangle,20 impeding him
or her of having allies in the ministry, because the alliance with one
leads to a fight with others.
In the EMC local churches, the IEM of Araguacema is a good
example of a Narcisic church.
This church is always facing struggles
and quarrels among its leadership, and the pastors that were in charge
19
Table 1, when the row Personal is crossed with colum
“Canonic,” we have “Hubris.”
20
These concepts come from Lynn Hoffman, Fundamentos de la
Terapia Familiar, (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2nd printing,
1992), 109-114.
64
of this church, faced many problems in ministry.
Some of them left this
church so wounded that they left the pastorate.
A third kind of motivation to belong to one particular church is
the Utopic motivation.
People belong to one particular church because
they identify themselves with some church program or mission.
They believe that churches must send missionaries to other
countries and find in one particular community the same objective.
Thus, they enroll themselves as church members in order to realize this
dream.
Region III has, in part, this motivation.
The dream of sending
missionaries to Mozambique is an utopian idea that moves many church
leaders in this Region.
It can be seeing at Tables A49, A50, A87.
The forth kind of motivation is the Symblolic/Linguistic
motivation.
People belong to this or that particular congregation
because there are some symbolic and linguistic elements that “make them
feel at home”.
They feel, at the unconcious level, that they are
accepted, people speak what they understand.
They do not necessarily
have utopian vision or goals, but they “feel good”.
Region II is, in part, an example of this motivation.
The
ethnic background, the German speaking heritage, some cultural elements
and historical linkage with the first Brazilian Mennonites, give to the
Region II’s churches this characteristic of being “Symbolic/Linguistic”
motivated.
65
If we look to these four cathegories for motivation for church
affiliation (Oedipal, Narcisic, Utopic and Symbolic/Linguistic) through
the lenses of Hopewell´s typology, we can find that all of them can fall
under the Canonic/Charismatic type.
If the Oedipal motivation can be explained because of the
emphasis on God as Father, the Narcisic comes with the pride of knowing
God´s will, the Utopic and Symbolic/Linguistic can be explained by the
Charismatic elements.
The belief of having spiritual gifts,
supernatural power to heal and perform miracles, gives them the
conviction that they are better equipped, and that God has given to them
a “special ministry”.
and recognition.
This concept can move them to search visibility
In the other aspect the Symbolic/Linguistic elements
is quite clear in the Charismatic environment, where a set of specific
words and phrases are characteristis.
In a certain way, to be
Charismatic is to speak some “charismatic phrases.”
At the Christian Education level, according to Table 3, the
Canonic church emphasizes the denominational doctrines and its
historical foundations.
To an extent, this is true for the EMC,
especially regarding the Anabaptist theological formulation of the
"priesthood of all believers,” to the point that laity involvement in
the church life and decision making process is very high (Tables A51,
A52, A96, A101 and A104).
On the other side, to an extent, the doctrine
of the priesthood of all believers is being used to refuse paid pastors
instead of promoting church members involvement.
This church behavior
66
is a motive for pride for some members, saying that, at the EMC,
everybody is considered, and that there are no differences or
distinctions between them.
The pastor is one gift among others and has
no intrinsic privilege by being pastor, because the pastorate does not
confer primacy over other church members.
Because of this understanding
by some church members, some people believe that they need a pastor that
work as a "bridge between church members" and do visitations, but are
not always in charge of the pulpit.21
Another consequence of this
doctrine in the life of the church is the lack of formal requirements to
ordain pastors.
People that have no theological training
but that
“speak fluently” are ordained and assume responsability of pastoring
churches.
In this context, formal theological education and reflection
are not strong characteristics for the EMC.
This lack of theological training and practice promotes a
diversity of theological positions and understandings inside the
denomination, at the point that 42.22% affirm that the EMC has
reasonable level of affinity among its local churches (Table A119) and
30.10% affirm that the EMC churches have little or something to do with
21
During the First Institute for Mennonite Pastors that I lead
as Seminary Dean, this issue was addressed. A pastor affirmed that this
doctrine is a “semi-heresy” because it is being used to attack pastors.
In an article of mine publised by Intercâmbio Menonita, entitled “The
Dilema of Universal Priesthood,” I adressed the issue, showing the
misuse that is happening.(Marcos Roberto Inhauser, “O Dilema do
Sacerdócio Universal” in Intercâmbio Menonita, XVII, 157 (July/August
96).
67
regards to the Anabaptist/Mennonite doctrines such as pacifism, nonviolence, conciencious objection and oppositon to war.
Reinforcing this is the practice of allowing and motivating
every church member to preach, to teach, to lead, regardless of their
spiritual gifts.
The practical theology behind the way of the EMC is
can be expressed in these words: "everybody doing everything."
The Charismatic aspect of the church emphasizes prayers and
Bible studies.
Prayers are highly valued and many churches promote
healing services, liberation services (freeing people from demon
influence) and have noisy worhip services, with long periods of singing
choruses and clapping hands.
In some instances, sermons are substituted
by testimonies and there is no sacramental emphasis.
Because of the Canonic/Charismatic characteristic of the EMC,
some members believe that some kinds of poverty and oppression are God's
punishment over sinful people.
It is also believed that Christians are
supposed to help others in their needs, but God can do it by other ways
too.
In part, this position is not to avoid Christian responsibility in
the social area, but a kind of fear of helping people that are under
God's disapproval.
Thus, the Canonic side of their theology is
determining this behavior of "extreme obedience” or “radical
dicipleship.”
Looking to Table H17 (H17-5) we find that the Empiric and
Gnostic elements in the EMC are very low.
The absence of a great number
of church members that are Empiric reinforces the characteristic of a
68
non-theological church that was addressed before.
It can also explain
why the EMC, even though belonging to a theological tradition that
stresses the fight for justice and peace, has a low-profile in these
areas.
The EMC social concerns are more related to personal
transformation and sanctification than to justice and peace as a
societal concept, what is shown by the Table 1, row of “Social.”
CHAPTER 6
SYDER'S TYPOLOGY
The Canonic/Charismatic side of the EMC is a way to understand
its identity.
Nevertheless, it does not give a complete understanding,
but shows one side of the picture.
In order to enlarge the vision and comprehension about the EMC,
Syder’s typology was used.
Ronald J. Syder belongs to the Anabaptist
tradition and is involved with the evangelical movement, especially
groips which are related to the Lausanne Covenant.
In his book
Evangelism, Salvation and Social Justice1 he identifies four ways of
understanding evangelism and proposes a fifth type.
The Priority Mission of the Church is Evangelism
The first type Syder identifies sees evangelism as the primary
mission of the church.
This type is best represented by Billy Graham's
position that the primary goal of church is the salvation of individual
souls.
Social work is not the priority mission.
If churches regenerate
people through evangelism, it will reflect in society, because they are
producing better persons, and, consequently, a better society.
Thus,
the Gospel is understood primarily in an individualistic way.
1
Ronald J. Syder and John R. W. Stott, Evangelism, Salvation
and Social Justice (np: Grove Books, 1977).
69
70
The Priority Mission of the Church is the Body of Believers
Affirming that Radical Anabaptism understands that the good news
of forgiveness and regeneration are important parts of Gospel, but that
there is something more, Syder affirms that this second type believes
that God saves them to live in a new society, the visible body of
believers.
The Gospel affects all areas of human life, and the
regenerated people must live according to these values, being a model of
the new society.
Thus, the church is the messenger by preaching the
Gospel and by living the Gospel's values.
The Gospel apart from the
church does not exist.
Conversion and Political Restructuring are Equally Important
The third type that Syder presents is the most common in
ecumenical circles.
Affirming that salvation has personal, social and
political dimensions, this third type understands that it is possible to
evangelize the structures of a society and its politics.
This is
possible because this third type does not see sin only as a personal
sin, as the first and second types do, but as personal, social and
political sins.
Therefore, to work for social and economic justice, for
political balance of power is evangelism.
Evangelism is directed to
people, organizations, institutions, corporations, states, government,
which means that evangelism is understood in a cosmic way.
Evangelism is politics
71
The fourth type equates salvation with social justice.
Evangelism is not directed to people but to promote humanization through
social justice.
Quoting Gibson Winter and the World Council of Churches
Fourth Assembly at Upsala (1968), Syder points out that they clearly
stated that the primary goal of the church is humanization.
Distinct yet Equal
After a long analysis of his understanding on the New Testament
teaching about Gospel, Salvation, and Redemption, Syder presents his own
typology, affirming that the four previous types are inadequate.2
For
him, salvation and social action are "equally important, but quite
distinct aspects of the total mission of the church."3
Syder understands that it is impossible to evangelize social
structures, institutions and government, because they cannot repent, and
repentance is the key point in the evangelization, and only human being
are able to repent.
On the other hand, the same Gospel that commands us
to preach and to call to repentance, is the Gospel that requires us to
feed the hungry, to heal the sick, and to promote peace and justice.
Evangelism is not more important than social action, and the reverse is
equally true.
They are equally important, inseparable and interrelated
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid., 3.
72
in the practical arena.
Evangelism promotes social action, and "social
action sometimes facilitates the task of evangelism."4
Considerations on Syder's Typology
There are some problems with Syder's typology when he refuses
the four types and presents his fifth type.
He describes what is
happening in the churches and concludes that there are four ways of
relating evangelism.
But, because of his theological biases, he can not
agree with any of these positions, which forces him to elaborate a new
one.
But this fifth type which he presents is not present in the
universe of churches, but it is something that he desires to see
practiced.
Thus, for the purpose of this Project, I am not considering
Syder's own position, but I will use the four basic types he describes.
Syder's Typology of the EMC
According to the table S17, EMC has its priority in evangelism
29.12%, followed by some social concern that comes by the balance
between politics and evangelism(26.33%).
Analyzing the EMC, we can
conclude that this is true because there is an emphasis on conversion,
new life and sanctification, but also on social and political actions.
Although they have this concern, most of the EMC members understand that
through evangelism they will produce better citizens, because they will
be living by biblical ethical values, which will, inevitably produce
4
Ibid., 19.
73
social and political changes.
Thus, evangelism has some political
component, not as a direct political action, but indirectly, by changing
society.
Looking at the Regions, we will find that Region IV is the only
one that has a different typology, because it falls into “political
restructuring and evangelism are equal important” (29.01% Table S22).
This difference can be explained by the historical participation of the
church in the schools and medical center that are in the Region, and, to
some extent, are the work that started the churches in the Region.
In
this regard, Table A114 shows a level of critique regarding the EMC,
when Region IV understands that their churches have the lowest level of
concern for personal need, but they believe that this work must be done
to help these people belong to the “family of faith” (Table A115).
The balance between political restructuring and evangelism is
equally important to Region IV is evident as shown in Table A116 that
shows that they understand that the church’s mission is to convert
people.
At the same time, Region IV has the second highest value in the
understanding that the church must be salt of the earth and the light of
the world even in the political areas.
At the local level, we have found that five local churches fall
into the “Evangelistic Typology” and two fall into the “Political
Typology”.
Our attention is called to the fact that the responses of the
IEM of Xaxim fall into three kinds of typology (Equal, Evangelistic, and
74
Political), which can be sign of a certain diversity inside the church
or on the contrary, a sign of indefinition, a lack of identity.
Furthermore, four churches from Region II fall into typologies that have
social and political elements.
If we remember the considerations made
previously about this Region, that they feel that they are “better
Mennonites” because of their ethnic roots, it can explain why they are
more socially concerned.
Theologically, Anabaptism has a history of social involvement,
not by political motivation, but by a service commitment.
Thus, what we
have here, probably, is the Radical Discipleship of ministering to needy
people, rather than political and ideological motivation.
CHAPTER 7
NIEBUHR'S TYPOLOGY OF EMC
As we have seen, the EMC is a Canonic/Charismatic church, that
understands that its mission is evangelization with social concerns, not
because of some political motivation or any kind of ideology, but
because of its commitment to serve people.
In order to better understand these characteristics of the EMC,
we must look to the way church members see themselves in their relation
to the world and the culture.
The way to do it is using Niebuhr’s typology.
Richard Niebuhr,
professor of Theology at Yale University, gave a series of lectures at
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in January 1949, that were
expanded and published under the title of Christ and Culture.1
In this
book Niebuhr states that there are five basic types of relationships
between Christ and culture, as they have been lived by Christians
throughout history.
Christ Against Culture
1
H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York: Harper &
Brothers, 1951).
75
76
Using Tertullian and Tolstoy as his basic models for this
typology, it is characterized by the affirmation that "the sole
authority of Christ over the Christian and resolutely rejects culture's
claims to loyalty.” This attitude of the rejection of the world was
typical among the first Christians, especially as it was set down in
some Christian documents from this period.2
They understood that sin
resides in the culture, and Tertullian almost affirms that the sin is
transmitted by the culture.
There is an inherent contradiction between
the Christian faith and the exercise of political power.
service must be avoided.
Thus, military
This rejection of the "world" is emphasized to
the extent that Tolstoy considers even the church as an "anti-Christian
institution." For Niebuhr the Radical Reformation is the best example of
the modern "Christ-against-culture-position."
The Christ of Culture
2
Such as Teaching of the Twelve, The Shepherd of Hermas, The
Epistle of Barnabas and The First Epistle of Clement.
77
In this typology there is no great tension between church and
world, law and Gospel, human effort and divine grace, and salvation and
social justice.
In other words, the one who belongs to this type tries
to accommodate Gospel and culture.
Gnosticism is the best example of
this position, especially in its intent to interpret Christianity as a
religion and not as a church, and to interpret the church as a religious
association and not as a new society.3
Studying A. Ritschl, Niebuhr
affirms that, for Ritschl, society must be cooperative and peaceful,
achieved by moral training,4 and that loyalty to Jesus leads to the
effective participation in every cultural work, and "to care for the
conservation of all the great institutions." Thus, this position is also
called Cultural Protestantism, where Jesus is the Savior not only of a
select group, but the whole world,5 and the Kingdom of God is, at same
time, task and gift.6
Christ Above Culture
Referring to it as the "church of the center," Niebuhr states
that this position refuses "to take either the position of the
3
Ibid., 88.
4
Ibid., 92.
5
Ibid., 105.
6
Ibid., 114.
78
anticultural radicals or that of the accommodation of Christ to
culture."7
If Christ and culture are the two principles with which Christians
are concerned, then most of them will seem to be compromising
creatures who somehow manage to mix in irrational fashion an
exclusive devotion to a Christ who rejects the culture, with
devotion to a culture that includes Christ.8
Being synthesisers, they affirm both Christ and culture, and
they confess that Christ is the Lord of this world and the other world,
the Lord of the two human natures that cannot be confused or separated.
Their Christ
is not against culture, but uses its best products as instruments
in his work of bestowing on men (sic) what they cannot achieve by
their own efforts . . . to exert themselves in self-culture and
intellectual training, in order that they may be prepared for a
life in which they no longer care for themselves, their culture, or
their wisdom.9
Christ and Culture in Paradox
Distinct from the synthesisers, this type can be defined as
dualistic, where the elements are in paradox.
The duelists hold
together as well as distinguish between loyalty to Christ and
responsibility for culture.
human beings.
7
Ibid., 117.
8
Ibid., 116.
9
Ibid., 127, 128.
The grace is in God, and the sin is in
79
The grace of God is not the substance, a mana-like power . . .
Grace is always in God's action; it is God's attribute. It is in
the action of reconciliation that reaches out across no-man's (sic)
land of the historic war of men (sic) against God.10
The sin is in the human being and the human being is in the sin.
Human reason is not misdirected, but it is darkened.
According to
Niebuhr, the apostle Paul is a good example of dualism.
Christ the Transformer of Culture
In this typology culture is understood as something that must be
converted and not substituted, although such conversion is so radical
that it can be characterized as a new birth.
History is the succession
of God's acts and the way that human beings have responded to God.
Niebuhr affirms that this is the position sustained by the author of the
fourth Gospel and by Augustine.
The Kingdom of God is the converted
culture, that starts inside us and is manifested through us to the
world, because it permeates our feelings, values, actions, behavior,
etc.
Niebuhr's Typology of the EMC
The questionnaire about Niebuhr’s typology as applied to the EMC
had the results as shown by Table N17.
According to these data, the EMC can be characterized as being
formed in its majority by people who believe that Christ is above the
10
Ibid., 151.
80
culture.
Nevertheless, these data must be considered carefully because
there are only 6.03% between the lowest and highest totals of responses.
If we consider Niebuhr´s typology and where he believes that the
Radical Reformation falls (into the Christ Against Culture typology), we
will see some discrepancy here.
Nevertheless, this typology received the lowest response in this
test (16.13% Table N17).
This fact lead us to one of the two
conclusions: The results are right or wrong.
If these data are wrong,
how can we explain that the EMC has a good level of social concern, and
57.76% of church members understand that the church must be salt and
light of the world (Table A117) and only 22.83% understand that it is
wrong for the church to be involved in politics (Table A117)? How are we
to understand that, for the church to get involved in social action a
perspective that is totally based on the Bible. This view is supported
by 65.05% of the respondants (Table A115)?
On the other hand, if it is true that the EMC falls into Christ
Above Culture Typology, can we affirm that it is an Anabaptist church
according to Niebuhr’s understanding of it?
When we look to the way that Niebuhr defines the Christ Above
Culture typology, saying that it is the “church of the center”, a church
that refuses “to take either the position of the anti-cultural radicals
or that of the accommodators of Christ to Culture, we can see that the
EMC is not far from this position.
As we already saw, the EMC falls
into “Politics Equals Evangelism” typology of Syder, a kind of middle or
81
balanced position.
This perspective is now reinforced by the data from
Niebuhr´s typology.
At the regional level, the denominational typology may be seen
in Regions II and IV (Table N22).
It is quite clear for Region II
because of the attitude of the regional leadership inside the whole
denomination, assuming the role of mediator when some tensions arise.
For Region IV it is necessary to look at the local level to
understand why it falls in this typology.
But the data we have came
from only two churches (Aragacema and Goianorte) and does not shed
sufficient light on this issue.
For Region I, the Niebuhr´s typology is “Christ and Culture in
Paradox”.
This typology is found in only one of its churches (IEM of
Vila Guarani, Table N23) but gives to Region I a good definition.
Inside of Region I there are churches with some Fundamentalistic
approach that could fall into “Christ Above Culture” but there are also
churches that fall into “Christ the Transformer of Culture” (Table N23).
As a whole Region, this one is dualist, sustaining loyalty to Christ
and responsibility for culture.
There is an emphasis inside the
denomination to set very clear limits between the secular and sacred,
the world and church, and citizenship and Christian life.
Finally, Region III falls into “Christ the Transformer of
Culture” typology.
It is quite impressive because Region III is the
most Pentecostal in the EMC, and Pentecostals, normally, fall into
“Christ Against Culture” typology.
When we look to Table N20, we
82
discover that Region III is polarized between two theological positions:
“Christ the Transformer of Culture” (12 people), with only 0.05% of
difference between these two positions.
Thus, it is quite difficult to
affirm that Region III is one or another, but that it falls into these
two categories.
On the other hand, if the Region III is, at the same
time, affirming “Christ Above Culture” and “Christ the Transformer of
Culture”, some theological incongruence is present.
Region III, the most Pentecostal inside of the EMC, is the
Region that is pushing the whole denomination to be involved in overseas
mission, that is promoting liberation services to break family curses,
and to provide inner healing.
However, at the same time, this Region
promotes a “Peace Conference”, the only specific church event with
significant social concern.
of theological ambiguity.
It shows that Region III works in an area
CHAPTER 8
ROOZEN/MCKINNEY/CARROL TYPOLOGY OF THE EMC
The last typology to be used in this Project comes from
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol that is taken from their study of religious
presence, looking for diversity in beliefs, values, organizational forms
and heritage in different traditions.
They did their research
not to review [the] considerable body of literature, but rather to
mention the studies that have been particularly helpful in leading
us to the approach at classification we have chosen. This approach
has been to focus on the interplay between the church or synagogue
(or other expressions of religious presence) and its environment.
In particular, we attempt to classify congregations in terms of the
dominant way each congregation defines its relationship to its
community or neighborhood.1
The way they classified the variety of types of religious
presence is according to a fourfold typology: The Activist, the Civic,
the Sanctuary and the Evangelistic.
The Activist
1
David A. Roozen and others, Varieties of Religious Presence
(New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1984, 2nd printing, 1988), 33.
83
84
perceives the here and now of the world as the main arena of God’s
redemptive activity, and humankind as the primary agent of
establishing God’s Kingdom on earth. For the activist church or
synagogue, achievement of a more just and humane society is a high
priority, and the posture toward the existing social and economic
order tends to be rather critical. Lines between public or
community life and private or congregational concerns are somewhat
blurred, as community issues are brought into the internal life and
program of the congregation as matters of great importance. The
congregation is understood as a corporate participant in community
life, and the rabbi or pastor is expected to be a public figure,
free to express his or her views within the congregation and in the
community at large. Social action efforts are endorsed and
supported by members with time and funds. Adult education
programs, often leading to organized church or synagogue
participation in social change efforts, are given a high priority.
In extreme cases, congregations holding the activist orientation
would consider engaging in civil disobedience in the interest of
justice.2
The second type of churches that Roozen/McKinney/Carrol defines
as a Civic congregation, which focuses:
on this world and its sense of responsibility for public life. But
civic congregations are more comfortable with, even affirming of,
dominant social, political, and economic structures; less willing
to accept, even opposed to, the use of confrontational techniques
in the service of change; and more likely to define their public
role in educational and cultural terms than in political terms.
There is a concern for public life and issues, and the congregation
is seen as an appropriate place in which public concerns are
discussed and debated in order to help members clarify their
opinions in light of their religious beliefs and values; however,
there is little expectation or desire that discussion will lead to
a corporate decision or action that represents the congregation´s
stance. If members choose to involve themselves in public issues,
it is as individuals that they do so and not as representatives of
the congregation. The same applies to the minister, priest, or
rabbi. In general, therefore, individualism, tolerance, and
civility play important roles in the civic orientation. The sense
of the moral order is less a call to prophetic change - as is the
case with the activist - and more a set of ground rules permitting
civil harmony in the middle of ecclesial pluralism.3
2
Ibid., 35.
3
Ibid., 35.
85
The third type of congregation is a Sanctuary, that
is primarily focused on a world to come, in which the cares of this
world will be surmounted. The church or synagogue exists mainly to
provide people with opportunities to withdraw, in varying degrees,
from the trials and vicissitudes of daily life into the company of
committed fellow believers. Inside the congregation one finds
considerable unity among members who adhere to a shared vision of
religious truth and practice. The shared vision may find its
center in a doctrinal statement; it may instead be in a liturgical
experience, such as the Mass; or it may be in a religioethnic
identity. Concern over deteriorating moral values and opposition
to life-styles that represent challenges to traditional patterns of
belief or behavior are high in this orientation. God has ordained
certain behaviors as appropriate and others as sinful, and the
congregation has a responsibility to interpret and monitor member
compliance with these standards. Society is viewed as necessary
for human existence with these standards and therefore God-given,
even in its fallenness and sin. Patriotism is generally
encouraged, as is adherence to civil laws; efforts to change
society are not encouraged. Human beings can do little to change
their condition in life or the shape of the world around them, but
they can live upright, moral lives, trusting the promise of the
world to come and the fulfillment it will bring to the faithful.4
Finally, the fourth type of congregation is evangelistic and may
be characterized as having:
Its focus is on a future world in which temporal concerns are
overcome. There is also concern over the deterioration of
traditional standards of personal morality. The major difference
is the evangelistic orientation’s clear sense of a publicly
proactive role. Members are encouraged to participate in public
life, not for the purpose of social reform or change, but to share
the message of salvation with those outside the fellowship. The
spirit of the Great Commission of Matthew 28 is alive and at the
center of congregational life. Members are expected to make
explicit faith declarations to friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
The congregation maintains an active program for sharing its faith
and incorporating new people. The power of the religious message
is such that it overcomes any hesitancy to see members of other
4
Ibid., p 36.
86
religious traditions as candidates for evangelization and
conversion.5
The results of the test applied to the EMC regarding to
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol typologies are on the set of Tables in the volume
of Tables that starts with the letter “R.”
According to these data, the EMC falls into an Activist
orientation (27.81%, Table R17).
However, the second highest value is a
Civic orientation (27.66%, Table R17).
The difference between the
Activist and the Civic orientations is merely 0.15%, which leads us to
more accuratelly define the EMC as an Activist/Civic church.
This categorization of the EMC as Activist/Civic shows that this
denomination is socially and politically concerned, with church members
that are involved in social and political actions, and that many church
members feel comfortable with discussing these issues inside the church,
even though they are not willing to involve themselves in social or
political action as a congregation.
These data are in harmpony with the findings of the data from
the questionnaire, where the EMC church members affirm the following:
(1) that the church must get involved in social action (65.05% Table
115) because social action is totally based on the Bible; (2) that
social action is a way to show Christian love (62.28% Table A116); and
(3) that the church must be salt of the earth and the light of the world
even in the political arena (57.79% Table A117).
5
Ibid., p 36.
87
These data show that members have a good disposition to be
involved in the political and social arena.
This is reflected by the
fact that 44.99% of the church members understand that the EMC is “very”
and/or “very much” committed to the Anabaptist/Mennonite doctrines such
as pacifism, non-violence, conscientious objection and opposition to war
(Table A124).
Other data which support this affirmation may be found on
Table A113 where 76.81% affirm that their church is concerned about the
personal needs of those who do not belong to the church.
Nevertheless, if we compare the data related to
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol´s typology and the data for Syder´s typology, we
discover some incongruence.
If a church falls into the Activist and
Civic typology of Roozen/McKinney/Carrol, the logical conclusion is that
it will also fall into the “Evangelism is Politics,” “Conversion and
Political Restructuring are Equally Important” or “Distinct yet Equal”
Syder´s typology.
However, the EMC falls into the “Priority Mission of
the Church is Evangelism” (29.12% Table 517).
The social/political side
of the EMC is, to a certain level, denied by the Evangelistic side of
the EMC.
However, if we consider that the second highest value in Syder´s
typology for the EMC presents a balance between politics and evangelism
(26.33% Table 517) we can conclude that these data found in
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol and Syder´s typology are not in conflict, but
rather present a level of mission undefined for the EMC.
This
denomination has some internal ambiguity, moving from an emphasis on
88
evangelism to an emphasis on social and political concern, depending on
the regional and local levels that are in consideration.
At the regional level, there is some diversity.
into the Sanctuary typology (26.52% Table R18).
Region I falls
Accordingly, Region I
finds itself at the opposite end of the spectrum from the EMC.
This is
evident in the tensions ehich exist between some of Region I´s
leadership and the National Board.
This tension became evident during
the National Conference, held in July ‘95, when, because of some
liturgical practices, church leaders of Region I criticized Region III’s
leadership who were in charge of the National Conference, and had the
desire to withdraw.
It is interesting to note is that this tension was
not produced by some political or ideological motivation, but was the
result of worship practices.
The Region I’s
leadership blamed Region
III’s leadership for allowing a “secular show” instead of a “sacred
worship.” The difference of opinion resulted from the type of songs, the
presence of dancing and other behavior of the youth.
If we examine this argument we may conclude that Region I’s
leadership based their accusations on the presupposition that there are
sacred and secular songs, and that worship, because of its sacred
nature, does not allow secular elements.
On the other hand, if we look at the local level, the churches
from Region I, have a different typology.
The only church that falls
into the Sanctuary orientation is the IEM Vila Guarani (27.53% Table
R15).
It leads us to a question: Is it possible for a whole Region to
89
have the same kind of orientation that the local churches have? This
question can be answered by saying that, because it is a fourfold
typology, it is quite impossible to have people and churches that are
“pure” in only one orientation.
If we look to the data from the Roozen/McKinney/Carrol typology,
we see that all people and churches have a “mixed” typology, because all
of them have some percentage in the four categories.
Thus, it is possible to have differences between the local level
and the regional level.
In this sense, the kind of typology for each
local church and for the Region must be handled with care, and can not
be definitive, but merely an evidence of congregational orientation.
Region II falls into the Activist typology.
If we consider that
Region II is the most Mennonite region in the EMC, and that Anabaptism
has some political orientation expressed in the concern for pacifism,
non-violence, and opposition to war, we can conclude that Region II,
falls into the Activist orientation, and reinforces the idea that it is
the most Mennonite Region.
At the local level, all the churches fall into the activist
orientation,6 and the only exception is the IEM Palmeira, which falls
into the Civic orientation (33.82% Table R10).
Region III has a Civic orientation (31.03% Table R20).
The
local churches fall into the same typology.7
6
IEM Colônia Francesa (28.38% Table R3); IEM Jardim Eliza
(29.51% Table R7) IEM Lindóia (42.02% Table R9) IEM Pinheirinho (30.14%
Table R11).
90
Region IV also has a Civic orientation (27.92% Table R21), but
the IEM Araguacema is Activist (27.15% Table R1) and the IEM Goianorte
has the Civic orientation (32.07% Table R4).
7
IEM Ceilândia (32.51% Table R2) and IEM Jardim Guanabara
(29.63% Table R5).
CHAPTER 9
THE THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF EMC
All the previous conclusions must now be understood through some
theological lenses.
If this does not happen, what we will have will be
a fragmented vision, and not an integrated one.
To analyze and
understand the EMC theologically, I would like to start with Aulén's
typology for Atonement.1
He begins by stating the problem of the
doctrine of Atonement and, with Irinæs, he studies the Greek and Latin
Fathers, the Medieval theology of Atonement, Luther's position, and the
post-Reformation understanding.
In his analysis, Aulén identifies three
types of doctrine of Atonement: the Classic, the Latin or Legalist, and
the Subjective or Humanistic.
According to Aulén, the Classic doctrine came with Christianity
itself, where the view of Incarnation and Atonement is in close relation
to one another.
Examining Irinæs’ idea, Aulén concludes that the
1
Dr. Gustaf Aulén was the Professor of Systematic Theology in
the University of Lund when in March and September 1930 he gave the same
lecture, at the Olaus Petri Lectures in the University of Upsala, and in
Germany. These lectures were published as Christus Victor, where he does
a historical analysis of the doctrine of the Atonement. Gustaf Aulén,
Christus Victor, trans. A. G. Hebert (London: Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge, 1931, repr., 1945)
91
92
Divine victory accomplished in Christ stands in the center of
Irinæs' thought, and forms the central element in the
recapitulatio, the restoring and perfecting of the creation . . .
The Recapitulation does not end with the triumph of Christ over the
enemies which held man in bondage; it continues in the work of the
Spirit in the Church.2
In the Classic idea of the Atonement "God is not only the
Reconciler but also the Reconciled."3
On the other hand, the Latin type presents a “legal relationship
between two parties . . .
by His passion and death He earns an excess
of merit, and this is paid to God as satisfaction or compensation.”4
Thus, the Latin idea of Atonement is essentially legalistic and
judiciary.
For the Latin type, the human guilt must be paid by a human
being, and none is able to do it because all of them are sinful.
Therefore, a sinless person must be offered in sacrifice, "and it is
precisely what is done in Christ’s atoning work."5
Therefore,
the satisfaction made by Christ is primarily a rationally conceived
compromise between the demand for punishment and the remission of
punishment; the demand of God's justice is satisfied by the
compensation paid by Christ from man's side, from below.6
2
Ibid., 37.
3
Ibid., 76.
4
Ibid., 98.
5
Ibid., 103.
6
Ibid., 131.
93
The Subjective type, is a product of the Enlightenment
especially since Schleiermacher, who disagreed with the classical idea
that Salvation and Atonement were equal.
He shifted the Latin idea that
Atonement is prior to Salvation, putting Salvation prior to Atonement
(reconciliation).
This shift made Schleiermacher consider Atonement as
a
sense of being at home in the cosmos, gained through the uplift of
the soul, or a new attitude to life, characterized by harmony with
the universe. Man (sic) comes to understand that all things are
dependent on God, and, therefore, that which seems to disturb the
harmony of things does so only in appearance.7
Aulén's typology gives us the theological context to understand
the Hopewell, Syder, Roozen/McKinney/Carrol and Niebuhr typologies.
This is so because the way we conceive of God and God’s action, affects
directly the way we think and behave.
If one accepts that God did
everything in the Atonement, being the Reconciler and Reconciled, it
affects the way one understands evangelism.
In this way, God may be
conceived as being the author and doer of the entire soteriological
process with the human being doing nothing, being completely passive,
refusing to act upon social, political, economical or ecological
concerns.
Thus, evangelism will be seen as the "salvation of souls,"
and not as the "salvation of human beings." The difference between one
and the other is that the former does not include the human body and its
needs.
If one has the assurance of "eternal life," it does not matter
7
Ibid., 153.
94
if someone is starving.
The tendency to be separated from the world is
very common among these people.
On the other hand, if we conceive Atonement as a process in
which a human being participates and has to "pay the price," even though
through a sinless one, the logical consequence is that we will
understand that we must do something related to social and economic
justice, because human beings are able to do something.
Thus, the
evangelism that we will develop is one that will integrate the social,
economic and political perspectives.
We will have no problem seeing
evangelism as a political action and humanization as evangelization.
Finally, the Subjective type can help us to understand why some
people have the tendency to reintegrate, to accommodate, to harmonize.
They see Jesus' work as the one that put human beings at home in the
cosmos.
There is no tension between Christ and culture, the divine and
the human.
There are no contradictory elements: everything may be
harmonized.8
According to these three typologies, the EMC falls into the
Latin type of Atonement (40,15% Table L17).
In addition, the EMC has a
high level of the Classic type (36,97% Table L17).
It shows a certain
level of theological ambivalence that produces the ambiguity of
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol's typology compared to Syder’s typology.
The EMC
has a high level of Activist and Sanctuary; the former believing that
8
Syder's fifth option is closer to Niebuhr's "Christ and Culture
in Paradox" typology. Offering a dualistic worldview, he does not try to
combine, but affirms that both are mutually exclusive.
95
Atonement is a process, the latter believing that it is an act performed
by God.
This theological ambiguity leads the EMC to be Canonic and
Charismatic according to Hopewell’s typology (Table H17), and
Evangelistic in the Syder's typology (Table S17), and to believe that
Christ is Above Culture, in the Niebuhr’s typology (Table N17).
At the regional level, Region I falls into the Classic type
(42.69% Table L18) and all churches that form this Region fall into the
same typology.9
Region II falls into the Latin type (40.77% Table L19) and there
are a variety of Aulén’s typology in this Region.
There are four local
churches that fall into the Latin type: IEM Colônia Francesa (50.22%
Table L3); IEM Palmeira (42.93% Table L10); IEM Pinheirinho (40.36%
Table L11); and IEM Ponta Grossa (47.85% Table L12).
Two local churches
fall into the Classic type: IEM Jardim Elisa (39.53% Table L6) and IEM
Xaxim (41.84% Table L16).
The IEM Lindóia is the only surveyed church
that falls into the Subjective type (40.24% Table L9).
This church is
also the only one that falls into the “Christ of Culture” typology
(Table N9).
The analysis of these data show that, the EMC falling into the
Latin type in the Aulen’s typology, has a kind of theological behavior
that gives some level of social and political concern, and the kind of
evangelization that the EMC develops is not only to “save souls.” The
9
IEM Interlagos (45.57% Table L5); IEM Lapa (42.51% Table L8);
IEM Ribeirão Preto (43.46% Table L13); IEM Sertãozinho (42.51% Table
L14) and IEM Vila Guarani (39.97% Table L15).
96
social and political concerns and actions were shown in the previous
analysis, especially related to the Activist typology of
Roozen/McKinney/Carrol.
When we look to Hopewell’s and Niebuhr’s
typologies, we can find some other theological elements to understand
the EMC theological identity.
The EMC falls into the Latin type of Atonement and into the
Activist typology, but it is Canonic/Charismatic, according to
Hopewell’s typology.
It means that, the Latin conception of the
Atonement is reinforced by the Canonic side of the EMC.
Jesus Christ
“paid the price,” He made the judiciary satisfaction to God, He
fulfilled all the legal requirements to save humankind.
This Canonic characteristic of the EMC leads this denomination
to look at the Bible as the final authority, searching within it for
principles of justice and peace (Table 1), and to look at the church as
a covenant made by God with God’s beloved sons through Jesus Christ, and
also as a covenant among themselves (Table 2).
When we look to the Christian Education area, we can conclude
that, because of its Canonic characteristic, the EMC gives an emphasis
on the denominational doctrines and its historical foundations (Table
3).10
10
It is clear when we look to the motivation to create the
Mennonite Theological Center. They had the concern of providing
theological and historical formation for the church leadership. There is
an emphasis on the need to know the historic roots of Anabaptism and the
way that many of the first Anabaptists performed radical discipleship at
the point of being sacrificed because of their obedience to the Word of
God.
97
The Canonic characteristic of the EMC faces problem with the
symbolic teaching (Table 3).
The churches that are Canonic have the
tendency to emphasize the figure of the priest, rituals, priestly
dresses, as a way to create an atmosphere of power around the church
leadership.
The EMC does not have this tendency, because it is not a
pure Canonic church, but a Canonic/Charismatic denomination.
Because of
this, the EMC emphasizes the recognition of God’s blessings, the
personal experience of God’s manifestation, the sense of powerlessness
and the need of being empowered by the Holy Spirit (Table 1), the
reality of demons and their power to create obstacles to God’s actions,
the eschatological expectation that motivates people to preach the
Gospel as a way to “abbreviate the days” (Table 2).
The Charismatic side of the EMC is also evident in the emphasis
on prayer meetings, vigils, worship services full of emotional
expressions, “liberation worship services” where people are liberated
from demon influence, and on the “priesthood of all believers” as a way
to stress spiritual gifts (Table 3).
The Canonic/Charismatic characteristic gives to the EMC a
theological conviction that God acts whether or not human being’s
participation (Table 4), because God is the Supreme and almighty
authority.
God can interfere and change the natural order, interfering
in everything and everybody, because all things are under God’s control.
This last aspect shows a level of theological incongruence with
the Activist side of the EMC.
If God does what God wants, and does not
98
need human participation or cooperation, why should
church members be
concerned and act politically in order to change social structures? If
the world is under God’s control, what Christians must do is just to
wait for God’s final intervention in this world.
A way to explain it is found by looking at the Syder’s typology
of the EMC.
The Evangelistic characteristic of the EMC must be
understood as a way that God acts, changing people through the spiritual
regeneration and leading the converts to radical discipleship.
It is true that the EMC is not a “traditional evangelistic
church” that promotes evangelistic movements and campaigns, but a church
that promotes evangelism by the example of its church members, and
through the service to the neighbor.
Not being aggressive in the
“fishing for souls,” the EMC church members combine God’s action
interfering in this world (Canonic understanding) through God’s personal
manifestation to human beings regenerating them to a new life
(Charismatic understanding), which produces better citizens (political
dimension that characterizes the Activist).
Finally, the “Christ Above Culture” typology of the EMC gives
the final framework.
The emphasis on the Radical Discipleship comes
from the Canonic side of the EMC, and this radical obedience must be
visible in the political actions (Activist side), but in such way that a
commitment with a counter-culture is shown (Christ Above Culture side).
Thus, the emphasis on the Sermon on the Mount, non-violence, pacifism,
to turn the other cheek, are ways to show that the EMC is committed with
99
a “higher level of culture” that denies worldly culture, because church
members are committed to a counterculture.
It is radical obedience,
radical discipleship.
When we look to the regional level, some “adjustments” must be
made to this theological framework.
The only Region that falls into a
different Aulen´s typology is the Region I, that falls into the Classic
typology.
Atonement is understood as God´s act, when God is the
Reconciler and the Reconciled, the author and enabler of human beings
entire salvation.
Because of this, people that believe this way tend to
be socially and politically passive, refusing to act upon political,
social, economical or ecological concerns.
But Region I is also a
Canonic/Charismatic region, and it is socially and politically passive,
in obedience to God´s will.
If something must be changed in the social
and political spheres, it will be only by God´s supernatural
intervention.
The result of this understanding is that Region I falls
into the Sanctuary typology, refusing to be in touch with “this world”.
The congregation is seen as a “refuge” and the only task that the
church must perform in the world is to preach the Gospel in order to
convert people to Christ.
This is why Region I falls into the
Evangelistic typology of Syder, even though the way that Region I
understands evangelism is the salvation from the world to Christ.
It is
a spiritual task with no obligatory social and political consequences.
It is reinforced by the “Christ and Culture in Paradox” typology
of Region I.
There is no way to conciliate Christ and “this world.”
100
Region II follows the same theological path as the EMC, with the
difference that Region II falls into the “Christ and Culture in Paradox”
typology.
If we compare this to Roozen/Mckinney/Carrol´s Activist
typology, these seems to be a certain amount of theological
inconsistency, because, if Christ and Culture are in paradox, what kind
of political orientation must a Christian have in order to change the
world? The only answer is promoting a Christendom, where the Christian
culture will prevail.
Region III has a different theological framework.
It falls into
the Latin type, it is Canonic/Charismatic, and understands that
conversion and political restructuring are equally important.
This later position can be understood due to the Latin
conception of the Atonement, that is in harmony with the Civic
orientation, and gives to this Region a characteristic of being socially
and politically concerned, but not acting as such.11
Furthermore, in
the Niebuhr´s typology, Region III falls into the “Christ, the
Transformer of Culture,” which shows that they believe that Christ and
the Gospel are the solution for the world.
The same can be said about
Region IV, which falls into the same typologies as Region III, differing
only that the Niebuhr´s typology presents “Christ Above Culture” and
“Christ, the Transformer of Culture”, which shows theological ambiguity,
that was previously analyzed.
11
Probably it is this way because of the Canonic/Charismatic
side, that understands that God is the author of any intervention in the
social and political order.
101
At the local level, the same kind of analysis can be done
churches, according to the set of typologies they have.
all
The only
exception is the IEM Lindóia, that is a Subjective type.
According to
Aulén, those who fall into this typology have a cosmic worldview,
characterized by harmony with the universe.
They feel dependent on God
and have the tendency to reintegrate and accommodate.
Because of this,
the IEM Lindóia is the only church that falls into the “Christ of
Culture” typology, a kind of harmonizing interpretation of the relation
between Christ and the world.
But the IEM Lindóia is also a
Canonic/Charismatic church that understands that God interferes in this
world.
He does it to harmonize and integrate Christ and culture.
Thus,
when IEM Lindóia thinks about evangelization, it believes that
evangelism is a way to interfere, according to God´s will, in the
society, that evangelization is political action (Evangelism is Politics
typology)
This analysis shows that the EMC has a theological background
that gives its theological identity.
In spite of local and regional
differences, it does not affect the essence of the EMC, but as a
Canonic/Charismatic denomination, which finds its unity in its
subordination to the Word of God (Canonic side) but allows a level of
variation or flexibility at regional and local levels (Charismatic
side).
Nevertheless, a level of theological inconsistency is present,
especially when we relate the Canonic side with the social and political
102
dimensions of the EMC actions, how it understands its role in society
and has a kind of fear of dealing with theological conflictive issues.12
Because the EMC is a denomination characterized by its
commitment to serve, as we saw in the Spiritual Gifts Inventory and in
some other evidences, the conclusion that we can reach is that the EMC
lacks a theology of ministry that gives solid ground to the actions and
ministry of the church.
The tendency of dualizing the world into
secular and sacred, spiritual and material, faith and politics, leads
the EMC to perform a kind of ministry that is not integrated to the
whole expression of Christian life.
This is why local churches have
problems with supporting the educational effort provided by the
Mennonite Schools in the Region IV, with the purpose of having stronger
presence with non-violence and pacifist teaching, to be clearly defined
12
An example of this is the long proces that is running to have
a final decision about one of the EMC’s bookstores, in the city of
Brasilia. This bookstore is running in deficit for a couple of years,
but the National Board is hesitant to decide to dismiss the actual
Manager, because he is a pastor and people are afraid of deciding
something that could wound him. Another example is related to the
tension that arouse during the National Conference, held on July 95. The
central issue was some liturgical practices and the theological
background of “Spiritual Warfare” and “Propsperity Gospel”. During the
National Conference, when the denominational president was out in a trip
to USA, the pastors that were present decided to have another meeting,
two months later, in order to discuss these issues, and to set some
theological guidelines. When the National Board meet again, the issue
was not in the agenda, and, when the president was argued about it, he
said that it was not the better time to discuss the issues, that they
needed to calm down, to think better and longer on the controversial
issues. A year after the National Conference, the controversial themes
were not yet discussed.
103
about some crucial social issues such as agrarian reform, street
children, homeless, landless, Unemployment, etc.
In order to provide a theological framework for the EMC, in the
next chapter I will present a theology of ministry based on the
johannine theology.
CHAPTER 10
A THEOLOGY OF A LIFE-CENTERED MINISTRY
To write a theology of ministry is not easy.
One can fall in
two kinds of temptations: to be theoretical, affirming things that, in
spite of having an internal logic and bibliographic support, have many
problems fitting in the practical arena of ministering; or to be
practical, leaving apart some commitment with a minimum of logical
reflection, often considering bibliographical support as an unnecessary
effort.
It is my understanding that the best way to produce a theology
of ministry to combine both positions in such a way that, integrating
the academic and practical aspects, fitness can be reached.
In this essay my purpose is to develop a theology of ministry
based on the Johannine understanding of life, and applying it to
practical situations, developing an exegetical understanding of the
Johannine writings, their theological formulation and possible
implications for ministry.
Nevertheless, a question can be raised: why put forward a
Johannine theology for the EMC if it falls into the Canonic/Charismatic
typology and, according to Table 3 (p.54) the theology for this type of
church is predominantly based on Matthew and Luke?
104
105
I would put forward two answers to this question. The first one
is that, because the EMC is a Canonic/Charismatic church and, at same
time, a church committed to serve others, if this church has a Canonic
theology, it will be ministering only to those who are obeying the
Lord’s commandments and biblical principles. Thus, this canonical
theology will be restrictive of the commitment to serve others.
The second reason, related to the first, is that, if I were
presenting here a canonical theology, I would be reinforcing a
theological perspective which contradicts the basic characteristic of
the EMC: being a church for others.
In my point of view, the best typology for this type of church
is the gnostic type, and this is why I will present a theology based on
the Johannine writings. Furthermore, because the Mennonites have a
historical commitment to life, peace, justice, and non-violence, by
presenting a Johannine based theology of ministry I will be using some
key theological elements of the Mennonite tradition
Understanding Life
The fourth Gospel is the
Gospel most related to the Old
Testament, and because it is a life-centered Gospel, therefore, the one
most suited to our purpose in this essay.
In spite the fact that there
are no direct quotations from the Old Testament writings in the Gospel
of John, nor direct allusions to it,1 it is clear today that the
1
The close relationship between the Gospel of John and Old
Testament thoughts is well accepted by scholars, such as Barret, Brown,
106
primitive church took a new approach to the Old Testament writings, in
order to present herself as a more developed Judaism.2
The use John
makes of typological hermeneutics3 is evidence of this.
In addition to this peculiarity of John, scholars have pointed
out that the Johannine writings strongly emphasize three major themes:
life, love and truth.
The root of the first word occurs eleven times in
the First Letter and fifty-one times in the Gospel and does not occur at
all in the Second and Third Letters.
These quantitative considerations
enable us to verify the qualitative occurrence of this word.
Dodd, Cerfaux, Morris, Bailey, Robinson, Manson, and others.
2
The utilization of Old Testament writings by New Testament
authors have been well documented by many scholars such as E. Earle
Ellis, Paul's Use of The Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1957); Ibid., Prophecy and Hermeneutics (Grand
Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980); Berhard
W. Anderson, ed., The Old Testament and Christian Faith: A Theological
Discussion (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1963); Walter C.
Kaiser Jr. The Uses of The Old Testament in the New (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1985); Donald Walter Burdick, Paul's Use of the Old Testament
(Northern Baptist Theological Seminary - Doctorate Dissertation, 1954);
F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Development of the Old Testament Themes
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), W. G. Kummel,
The Theology of the New Testament (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1973);
Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (New York: Charles
Scribners Sons, 1951); James M. Efird, The Use of the Old Testament in
the New and Other Essays - Studies in Honor of William Franklin
Stinespring (Durham: Duke University Press, 1972); J. Douglas J. Moo,
The Old Testament in the Gospel Passion Narratives (Sheffield: The
Almond Press, 1983); Leonhard Goppelt, Typos: The Typological
Interpretation of the Old Testament in the New, trans. Donald H. Madvig
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978).
3
The good shepherd, the bread of life, the light of the world,
the lamb of God, etc.
107
For the Johannine writings, life is the central concept for his
religion and theology not only by the intensity of the direct idea, but
also by the use of other symbols related to it,4 such as light of the
world, living water, bread of life, the true vine, the good shepherd,
the door, etc.
In the Fourth Gospel, the author's conception of life is better
developed.
According to R. H. Lightfoot5 life was understood by
Christianity as a gift of God through Jesus Christ, and was expressed by
"salvation," "deliverance," "redemption," "justification,"
"forgiveness".
The importance of life in John is seen not only in the predominance
of the new syncretic thought form or pattern or category of life as
communicable essence through personality, but also in the substance
of the Gospel's thought, which is little more than a religious
presentation of this religiously conceived idea. The Gospel begins
with the thesis statement that 'in Him was life, and that life was
the light of men;' continues with the identification of life-giving
as the purpose of the incarnation .... and concludes with the
identification of the transmission of life as the Gospel's purpose
in common with the purpose of the incarnation."6
4
Johannine writings employ many symbols, most of them related to
life. C. H. Dodd in his book The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958), 133, has an extensive
consideration of it. Also Paul Diel, Symbolism in the Gospel of John
(San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1983).
5
R. H. Lightfoot, History and Interpretation in the Gospels
(Harper, 1934), 80.
6
Willis Edwin Elliot, id., 224. Further considerations on the
theme can be found in J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, The Vocabulary of
the Greek New Testament Illustrated From the Papyri and Other NonLiterary Sources (NP: Hodder & Stoughton, 1914); Juan Mateos and Juan
Barreto, Vocabulário Teológico do Evangelho de São João, trans. Alberto
Costa (São Paulo: Edições Paulinas, 1989).
108
John talks about the Logos who preexists with God, as the
creator of all things and the source of life.7
words to refer to life.
He employs different
The physical dimension of life is expressed by
the word psychê, which denotes the concrete human being.
in John as an object of deliverance.8
Psychê occurs
According to the Johannine
theology, the one who does not have the disposition to give his/her life
is not able to receive the definitive life.9
Only through deliverance
of his/her own life can one the attain real life (10:17 12:25).
This
deliverance is a process (10:11,15,17,18 where the verb is presented in
the present tense), where love is the foundation for such an act.
7
The Logos as the source of life is not a well accepted idea,
therefore John presents Jesus as the "life giver". The Nestle text here
- John 1:4 - presents some difficulties, especially related to
punctuation marks from verse 1 to the conclusion of verse 5. In Kasser's
edition, a period appears before ó gegonen. It implies some difficulties
to understand the relation of life and the Logos. Bultmann offers two
interpretations for this passage: "What has come to be in him (the
Logos) was the life (for it) and "What has come to be - in it he (the
Logos) was the life" Rudolf Bultmann, The Gospel of John - A Commentary
(Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1971), 36 et seq. A complete discussion can
be found in Ernst Haenchen, A Commentary on the Gospel of John
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press), 113ff and W. L. Richards, The
Classification of Johannine Epistles (Missoula, Montana: Scholars
Press/The Society of Biblical Literature, 1977).
8
For six times psychê is related to tithêmi which means "to
put", "to deliver". Jesus as a model of a shepherd, gives His life for
His sheep (10:11 15:17): as a friend He gives His life for His friends
(15:13)
9
12:27, New Revised Standard Version.
109
One can see in John a paradox between life and death.
According
to him, real life is deliverance, that is, death in order to receive a
broader dimension of life.
This is particularly true in the image of
the grain of wheat that must die to produce fruit.10
Another word employed by the Johannine writings to express life
is the Greek word zoê and its variations.11
Through these words John
introduces the idea of "eternal life"12 which is a central concept in
the Johannine theology.
These words in John never denote the physical
life, but a quality of life that is definitive and where death is not
present.
Several times these words are followed by aiônios which means
"definitive life", "eternal life".
For John, eternal life is a consequence of faith in Jesus Christ
(3:15,36 5:24 6:40,47), a gift of God through Jesus Christ (5:24 6:40
17:2).
Eternal life is knowing the only true God through Jesus Christ
10
John 12:24,25: "I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it
bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate
their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
11
12
zaô, zôopoieô.
The expression occurs also in 4:14,36 5:24,39 6:27,40,47,54,68
10:28 12:25, 50 17:2,3. According to George B. Stevens, Johannine
Theology (London: Richard D. Dickinson, 1894), 312, "Eternal life or
life in the absolute sense, is a name for the heavenly good which Jesus
brings to men in the gospel; it is conferred upon men upon condition of
faith in him." However, a study on Johannine writings related to
historical theological development, considering the need that the early
church had to explain why Jesus had not yet returned, shows that John's
concept of eternal life that believers already possess, was the
redefinition of the term.
110
whom he sent (17:3).
The condition necessary to receive eternal life is
adherence to Jesus in His condition as only Son.
He is the model
because He gave His life to save humankind from death.
Thus, the
condition necessary to receive eternal life is to recognize God's love
expressed in Jesus' death.
Eternal life is also the power to be raised up on the last day
(6:40,54), the assurance of never perishing (10:28).
eternal life is the complete victory over death.
In other words,
Jesus can give life
because Jesus is life and was victorious over death through resurrection
(5:26).
Thus, He could say "I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly” (10:10).
What does "abundant life" mean? We can gain insight from the
broader context surrounding these texts.
John was talking about the
good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.
thieves and bandits come to steal, kill and destroy.
In contrast,
In this context,
life is the opposite of stealing, killing and destroying, which are
signs of violence and death.
In another passage, Jesus speaks of
thirst, saying that He is the "water of life" and whoever drinks it will
be never thirsty again.
Here once again, Jesus works with contrasts -
life, and thirst, because thirst is a kind of implanted death.
The same parallel can be found in another passage where He
talks about food that perishes and food that endures, a metaphorical way
of talking about life and death.
Then He introduced Himself as the
"bread of life" that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
111
He concludes this section by saying "I am the bread of life.
Whoever
comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never
be thirsty” (6:35).
112
Understanding Death
According to these texts, death is not just to die, but it has a
wider application.
If hunger and thirst are death too, then what does
death mean? Death is anything that threatens the full expression of
life, that is, abundant life.
Theologically speaking, death can be understood as any event,
situation, feeling, emotion or relationship that impedes a full
expression of life.
Death then, is not just the absence of life, but a
life lived without joy, happiness and hope.
Jesus promised life and it
is related to the past (forgiveness of sins), the present (no more
hunger or thirst) and the future (eternal life through resurrection on
the last day).
These considerations have a profound impact on the theological
understanding about life and death and several practical conclusions can
be drawn in order to understand how death is manifested in many aspects
of life.
It also leads us to conclude that any kind of violence
produces death.13
13
Violence is a kind of murder.
Brazilian society faces many types of violence. Starting in
1964 political violence was implanted through a "military revolution"
that institutionalized different levels of violence. One of them was the
Human Rights violation, with torture applied to people that opposed the
military regime. One hundred thirty six persons were killed by the
military during this period. The economic violence enabled the richest
people in the country to become richer because of economic legislation
that impoverished the majority of Brazilians. A way to demonstrate this
is by comparing the values of the official minimum wage in the last 50
years. Data from the Intersindical Institute for Economic and Social
Studies - DIEESE show that in January, 1959 the official minimum wage
was Cr$ 107,292.74 and, at the end of the military regime was only Cr$
16,414.06 according to the Departamento Intersindical de Estudos Sócio-
113
Econômicos, O empobrecimento dos trabalhadores (São Paulo, 1991). Urban
violence has increased significantly in Brazil, especially in Rio de
Janeiro. The corruption of the police is one of the reasons for this
increase. In 1990, each Brazilian consumed about 14 pounds of wheat, and
in 1994 only 7 pounds. During 1980-85, the National "per capita" income
decreased 10.5%, had an increase of 13% during 1985-90 and in the next
two years decreased again by 9%. The Brazilian population increased, the
national product decreased and they are living in economic recession.
Agriculture produced 71 million tons of grains, a national record, but
hungry increased (José Sarney. "Ainda a Questão Social," Folha de São
Paulo, 18 February, 1994). In the first five months of 1994, in São
Paulo city there were 25% more murders than in the same period in the
previous year.(Gilberto Dimenstein, "É bom mandar o Exército às ruas?,"
Folha de São Paulo, 15 June, 1994).
114
Disease is a kind of death.
It is an "implanted death" in some
part of the body, even as the body tries to regain its wholeness.14
With cancer, the very life cycles of certain cells produce death.15
Another example is AIDS,16 an implanted death in the immune system that
kills the whole body.
Hunger is a kind of death implanted in the stomach.
It is death
because the body is not receiving enough life (food) to replace the
energy spent during the day.17
Thirst is a death, an implanted death in
the balance of liquid in the body.
Pain is a symptom of an implanted
death in the body.
14
José Reis, "Cientistas isolam gene em tempo recorde," Folha de
São Paulo, 02 January, 94).
15
Cancer is the second cause of mortality in Brazil, causing
around 99,000 deaths yearly, that represents 11% of annual deaths, the
double of Holland and France death rates by cancer according to data
from Jornal do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, 16 September, 1981.
16
According to National Health Ministry, Brazil had, at the end
of 1993, 43,964 cases of AIDS reported. But according to unofficial
sources, this number is between 500,000 and 700,000 (Aureliano
Biancarelli, "Aids cresce entre mulheres no Brasil," Folha de São Paulo,
13 January, 1994).
17
According to Maria Cecília de Souza Minayo in "Fome: O Desafio
Radical," Tempo e Presença, 266 (November/Decemeber 1992): 5-6, 21.8% of
Brazilian children under five years old are malnourished; in 61% of
children mortality is produced by hunger; 53 million Brazilian people
are starving. Among families led by women (fathers absent for any
reason) 63.1% are starving. According to Maria Lucia M. Bosi, "O Estado
Brasileiro e a Alimentação," Tempo e Presença, 266 (November/December
1992): 9-11, 66% of Brazilian population receive fewer calories than
they need daily.
115
When people drink contaminated water because they have no other
water to drink, they are drinking death, not water.18
When people in
the Third World cook and drink polluted and infected water, they are
trying to fight an implanted death (hunger and thirst) by taking bigger
doses of death.
They are not suicidal, but they are being killed by
economic structures that forbid them access to healthy food and water.
When farmers desire to increase productivity and, consequently,
greater profits, and put fatal pesticides or insecticides in the food
they produce, they are not just killing insects or plagues, they are
killing the people19 who eat their products.
When someone buys food
prepared with preservatives and other additives that cause cancer, they
are buying death, not food.
In the same way, sorrow, depression, and sadness are implanted
deaths in human emotion.
These feelings have the ability to kill joy
and happiness, to kill the appetite, to kill dreams.
Anger, animosity,
wrath, exasperation, bitter resentment, and virulence are other types of
implanted deaths that kill personal relations.
18
According to Eduardo Mazzolenis de Oliveira, "Sinal de
Alerta," Tempo e Presença, 261 (January/February 1992): 61-63, United
Nations data affirm that 80% of all diseases are transmitted by water
and 20 billion tons of pollutants are thrown yearly into the water
around the world.
19
Pesticides killed more than 10,000 Chinese in 1993 Folha de
São Paulo (27 January, 1994). Studies among men that are eating food
without pesticides reveal that they have 104 million of spermatozoons in
one millimeter of sperm against only 50/55 million of those who eat food
treated with pesticides. Ibid., (27 February, 1994): Caderno Mais, 6-2.
116
Another kind of implanted death are the losses that one suffers.
Each person suffers losses.
ability.
They lose things, recognition, position,
Each loss is an implanted death in the life process producing
"death signs", such as anxiety, behavior alteration, ideas of suicide,
hallucinations, personal disorganization, aggression, passivity,
dependence, and so on.
They must be handled with an "option for
life,"20 which means a process of catharsis, a redirection in behavior
and a new goal for life.
20
Inhauser, Marcos Roberto and others in the book Consolacion y
Vida (Quito: Conselho Latino Americano de Igrejas, 1989) presents the
consolation ministry as an option for life when loss occurs. The fourth
chapter "Option for life" and the fifth chapter "Consolation in the
Crisis", are especially related to this theme.
117
In the church congregation, death can be found when
congregational systems are dysfunctional.21
Triangulations,22 stressor
events,23 administrative disorganization,24 transference and
21
Daniel C. DeArment, ThM., "Families and Groups: Their Nature
and Function From Systems Perspective" The Journal of Pastoral Care,
XLI, 2 (1982): 111-118, argues that families simply are, while groups
"are formed for a stated purpose" (p., 115). For him the structural
basis for families is structural and for groups is teleological; the
ultimate task for families is going away and for groups is coming
together; the primary dynamic for families is intimacy and for groups is
power (p., 116). Nevertheless, considering these differences and
applying some adjustments to systems approach, the family systems theory
can be applied to group systems. In certain way it is supported by
Charles Cosgrove and Dennis D. Hatfield, Church Conflict: The Hidden
Systems Behind the Fights (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), especially
when they talk about "the family like nature of the local church" and
"the family like nature of the early church and by the second chapter,
"Church Family Structure" (p., 30-58). See also Peter L. Steinke, How
Church Family Works: Understanding Congregation as Emotional Systems
(NP: The Alban Institute, 1993).
22
Peter L. Steinke, id., 47-55.
23
Reuben Hill, Families Under Stress (New York: Harper and Row,
Publishers, 1949), offers a model to understand and to manage crisis
among family systems. His model, in my understanding, can be applied
with some adjustment to congregational systems as well. The stressor
event is one that impacts upon congregation and produces change in the
congregational system. It is accompanied by "hardships" that are
demands on the congregation because of the consequences coming from the
stressor event. According to the ability of the congregational system
to manage the stressor and the hardships that arise, the congregational
system defines the event and it produces crisis inside the congregation.
24
Concept developed upon H. McCubbin and J. Patterson, "The
Family Stress Process: The Double ABCDX Model of Adjustment and
Adaptation," Marriage and Family Review, 6 (1983): 7-37. The formulation
of administrative disorganization I developed from the empiric
conclusion that, in the congregational life, it is stressor event and
not just a result of a stressor event. Also Ichak Adizes, Como Resolver
as Crises da Antigerência (São Paulo: Biblioteca Pioneira de
Administração e Negócios, 1987) presents five types of managers and how
each of them can produce administrative disorganization which produce
118
countertransference process involving pastor and church members,25
conflicts,26 power struggle, disputes over theological formulation or
crises and conflicts inside any type of organization.
25
The concept can be found in David E. Scharff, MD., and Jill
Savage Scharff, MD., Object Relations Family Therapy (Northvale, New
York and London: Jason Aronson Inc, 1991), 201-225. The concept applied
to congregations is found in E. Mansell Pattison, Pastor and Parish - A
System Approach (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977), 58 et seq.
26
For better understanding church conflicts see James Qualben,
Peace in the Parish: How to Use Conflict Redemption - Principles and
Process (San Antonio, Texas: Langmarc Publishing, 1991); Charles H.
Cosgrove and Dennis D. Hatfield, Church Conflict: The Hidden Systems
Behind the Fights (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994); William H.
Willimon, Preaching About Conflict in the Local Church (Philadelphia:
The Westminster Press, 1987); Hugh F. Halverstadt, Managing Church
Conflict (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991);
Donald E. Bossart, Creative Conflict in Religious Education and Church
Administration (Birminghan, AL: Religious Education Press, 1980); Robert
S. Kreider and Rachel Waltner Goossen, When God People Quarrel: Studies
of Conflict Resolution (Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1989);
Larry L. McSwain and William C. Treadwell, Conflict Ministry in the
Church (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981). For conflict management
outside the church see Deborah Borisoff and David A. Victor, Conflict
Management: A Communication Skills Approach (Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989); David Augsburger, Conflict Mediation
Across Cultures: Pathways and Patterns (Lousville, Kentucky:
Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992); Christopher W. Moore, The Mediation
Process: Practical Strategies for Resolving Conflict (San Francisco:
Jossey- Bass Publishers, 1986); Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to
Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (New York: Penguin Books,
1981); Gibson Winter, Love and Conflict: New Patterns in Family Life
(Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1961); I. M.
Friedmann, Helping Resolve Conflict: True Experiences of a Christian
Anthropologist (Scottdale, Pennsylvania and Waterloo, Ontario: Herald
Press, 1990); Ross R. Reck, PhD. and Vrian G. Long, PhD., The Win Win
Negotiator (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Spartan Publications, Ic., 1987); Juan
Pablo Lederach, Enredos, Pleitos y Problemas: Una Guía Práctica Para
Ayudar a Resolver Conflictos (Santafe de Bogotá y Ciudad de
Guatemala:Ediuciones Clara-Semilla, 1992); James G. T. Fairfield, When
You Don't Agree: A Guide to Resolving Marriage and Family Conflicts
(Scottdale, Pennsylvania and Kitchener, Ontario: Herald Press, 1977);
Judith Lynch, Community Conflict Resolution Training Manual (San
Francisco, California: The Community Board Program, Inc., 1984); Rensis
119
liturgical practices.
Besides these aspects, death is present in the
congregation when it does not fulfill the purpose or mission that it
has.
If church mission is to preach the good news of Jesus Christ,
carrying out the abundant life He gives, churches are supposed to fulfil
this mission
with integrity, saving human beings and not just human
souls.
An Option for Life
A Brazilian poet said that
It's no life, no life at all, that's rooted in deception,
it's no life when human warmth is missing from perception.
Living is a whole more than scrambling for survival,
going through the motions with your neighbor as a rival.
It's no life, no life at all, in slavery to suffer,
with no shelter or a voice or money for a buffer.
Living ought to be more like a wonderful adventure,
with the freedom to move out in any kind of venture.
It's no life, no life at all, when there's no future showing,
memory is not enough to keep a person going.
Living cannot be reliving of the past, discouraged,
life must be attainable and real for hope to flourish.
It is life, authentic life, that Jesus has to offer,
working with us to transform our world where people suffer.
Tyranny shall be no more and all oppression vanish;
in his kingdom full of joy the fear of death is banished.27
Likert and Jane Gibson Likert, New Ways of Managing Conflict (New York:
Mc Graw-Hill Book Company, 1976).
27
Jaci C. Maraschin, "Jesus Christ the Life of the World,"
Hymn Book (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1976), 23.
A
120
Because life and death are realities in our daily life, because
life is the constant struggle against death, Jesus said: "I am the bread
of life", "I am the light of life, "I am the shepherd who gives his own
life".
Because He is life He could promise life, and the way that He
obtained it was through death.
Life is not just to have bread to eat or
water to drink, but life comes from the assured bread for all.28
Understanding Love
Another major theme in the Johannine writings is love.
love are two ideas closely connected in John's theology.
Life and
The Christian
lives in God and God lives in him/her(IJn 2:5,6,24,27); a Christian is
begotten of God, and has a new life from God (2:29).
Because God is
love (4:8,16) whoever lives in union with God must live in love.
John uses several Greek words to talk about love: kharis, agapê,
agapaô, philos and phileô.
The word kharis is the loyal love and John
employs this word to talk about the love that manifests God's glory
(1:14).
But this connection between glory and love can also be found
when John uses the word agapê (17:22,23), showing that love is a way to
manifest God's glory.
The characteristic of God as Father29 is the fullness of loyal
love.
God's love is universal and reaches all humankind. God as Father
loves the Son and He has loved Him since before the creation.
God shows
28
Raul Vidales, “Pagar é Morrer, Queremos Viver,” Dívida Externa
e Igrejas, Uma Visão Ecumênica (Rio de Janeiro: CEDI, 1989), 104.
29
For me the idea of God as mother is better in this context.
121
love for his Son by giving Him the fullness of God’s glory, the loyal
love and the Spirit.
God made Him Lord over all creation and by love
God taught the Son how to act (5:19), in such way that Jesus, through
His actions, revealed the Father.
Love and the communication of the Spirit are related in the
Johannine thinking (1:32 4:24).
Jesus received the fullness of the
Spirit and He became "one" with the Father, who is identified with Him
by love.
love.
The way Jesus responds to God's love is giving His life in
In this way glory, love, Spirit and life are interconnected and
interrelated.
In the same way that fullness of life is possible when
life is given, love is also deliverance.
God gave God’s Son.
Because God loved the world,
Because Jesus loved the world, He gave His life.
When one speaks about life one of the basic issues is love.
This is so because the same God who created humankind and gave us life
is the God who is love.30
God also put love into us,31 asked for love in
return and said to love the neighbor, in the same way that one loves
oneself.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin asks: "At what moment do lovers
come into the most complete possession of themselves, if not when they
are lost in each other?"32
30
Deut. 7:8; Jer. 31:3; John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:4,5; 1 John
3:1 and especially 1 John 4:16.
31
Rom. 5:5; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 5:22; 1 Thess. 3:12; 1 John 3:1
4:7.
32
Quoted by Rollo May, Love and Will, (New York: W. W. Norton &
Company Inc., 1969), 311.
122
To love is to be in touch with others and in touch with oneself.
Human beings were created to love and to be in touch with one another.
Love is feeling, but it is also action. One can find this
concept in the Johannine writings.
Fernando Segovia33 has pointed out
the meaning of love in the Johannine writings, especially in the First
Letter.
After some observations on the best way to study the letter,
especially by the use of "spiraling argumentation" and the quantitative
intensity that Greek words agapê and agapan occurs in
the First Letter,
he develops an exegesis of all passages where these words occurs and
concludes that:
First of all... the love of God toward men ... is presented ... in
strictly historical terms, i.e., as an event of history ... and is
described as solely in terms of the mission of his Son and of his
death on behalf of men's sins.
Secondly, in this definition of the love of God toward men, it is
implied, but never pursued explicitly as such, that the Son of God
in carrying out his mission and specifically in dying for men also
manifested love toward men. ....
Thirdly ... a definition of what love for God on the part of men
implies and entails. Furthermore ... is developed by the author
... the 'correct' and 'incorrect' love of God on the part of man.
.... correct love of God may be characterized as follows: (1) a
knowledge of Jesus which requires the execution of his commands
...; (2) a complete exclusion of all love for the world ...; (3) an
acceptance of the fact that God has loved men first through his Son
...; (4) a corresponding love of one's brother ...; (5) the
execution of God's commands -- which ... include belief in Jesus
Christ and love for one another ....
Fourthly, ... the author concentrates for the most part on the love
command, i.e., love of 'the brother' or 'of one another'.34
33
Fernando Segovia, Love Relationships in the Johannine
Tradition (Chicago: Scholar Press, 1982).
34
Ibid., 74, 75.
123
Segovia points out also the correct and incorrect love for one
another, following the same pattern given above.
According to him,
... love of the brethren implies: (1) an abiding in the 'light'
...; (2) the execution of righteousness ...; (3) a transformation
from 'death' to 'life' ...; (4) an incorporation of the mode of
love which God showed man into one's own love for ...; (5) abiding
in God and vice versa ...; (6) a knowledge of God and birth from
him ...; (7) a love God through the execution of his commands. ...
'incorrect love -- or 'hatred'-- shows the following
characteristics: (1) being 'in darkness' ...; (2) the execution of
the sin ...; (3) an abiding 'in death' ....; (4) a lack of
knowledge of God ...; (5) a lack of love of God ...; (6) a failure
to execute his commands...
Understanding Love and Life
Almost all of these statements are relating feelings that
produce actions or interfere in human behavior, by obedience to God's
commandments, by new ethical values or by actions to support and
validate a neighbor's life.
life and its full expression.
All these aspects are closely related to
Phrases like "abiding in light",
"execution of righteousness", and especially "transformation from death
to life" are vivid examples of that.
Love, then, is action performed
with commitment to life and its promotion.
Because love is action, I John, the epistle of love, asks:
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we
should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the
evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?
Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do
not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you.
We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one
another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a
brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not
have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he
laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for
one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the
124
world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses
help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in
truth and action."35
This text begins with a commandment that, according to John, was
heard since the beginning.
This statement is almost identical with that
in 1:5 where the variant of épangelia is used, instead of angelia, and
the verb comes in the second person.
35
1 John 3:11-18. According to R. Bultmann, this section
belongs to a wider section that begins in 2:28 through 3:24 and contains
a repetition of the themes presented in 1:5 through 2:27. For him, this
part is an addition to the original letter. On the other hand,
Schnackenburg believes that this sections begins in 3:4 through 24.
125
The difference between 1:5 and 3:10 is that the first is an
article of faith and in 3:10 is an ethical demand.
To love one another
(in Greek alleélous) is employed here rather than the brother (adelphon)
that he used in the above verses.36
This change of words leads us to
conclude that "brother" and "one another" are equivalent.37
Understanding Love and Death
36
What is interesting in Segovia's point of view is that he
sustains love one another is not an inclusive love (in the same level
that Jesus said we must love even our enemies) but a love which belong
to the community of faith, to whom has been born of God (p., 52).
37
The real issue here is the identification of who are brothers
(adelphoi). Some scholars have pointed out that this epistle was written
because the Johannine community was in crisis and suffered some
division. Using 1:19 we can understand that those who left the community
were not considered brother or sister anymore. On the other hand, if we
consider 3:11-18, we will discover that love must be the characteristic
of Christians and they must love in a broader sense.
126
In order to explain how love acts, John uses a contrary example.
Cain is shown as a person who did not love his brother.38
As an
antitype of love, he "butchered" his brother, showing that he was ek toû
poneroû (of the evil one).
According to v.8 he belonged to the devil.
The question the author raises, "Why did he murder him?", is
answered saying: "Because his deeds were evil, and those of his brother
righteous".
The concept of love as action returns here again.
For
John, not just love is expressed through actions, but hatred is as well.
The opposite ideas used by the author (righteous and evil) shows us
that unrighteous actions are evil actions.
If we consider the context
of this text, we can see that these opposite ideas correspond to
"children of God" and "children of the devil” (IJo 3:9-10).
These opposite ideas are used by the author to identify who
belongs to God and who belongs to the devil.
belongs to God.
Who loves and is hated,
Who hates and is loved belongs to the devil.
This is
clearly expressed in v.13 when the author warns about the hating of the
world.
To be hated is a sign of being real Christian.
38
According to Segovia (p., 50 et seq.) verse 10 is a transition
from the themes about righteousness and sin and the introduction to the
theme of love. The usage of the verb agapan is a signal of this
transition. In addition, Segovia states that this section follows this
structure: a statement of tradition (3:11); the prototype of false love
(3:12-13); the prototype of correct love (3:14-16) and parenetical
advise (3:17-18). The tradition is called as "from the beginning", which
puts love at the very beginning, which is not identified by Segovia in
his book. By the context, because John uses the example of Cain, I
understand that this beginning is not a reference to Jesus Christ's
ministry, but to the beginning of the world (especially if we consider
that John's writings are full of influences from Old Testament).
127
Understanding Love and Justice
In this context, the conclusion of Fernando Segovia about the
meaning of love for the brethren,39 that implies "the execution of
righteousness" is very important.
The opposite ideas presented by John
are centered on the actions persons take, and righteousness is the
central characteristic for the "children of God".
But what does
righteousness mean for John?
My understanding of it is related to the idea of "walk in the
light" (1:6) "To walk in the light" is "to walk in the truth," and light
and truth are ways to designate Jesus Christ.
The one who walks in the
light has communion with Jesus, with God, and with one’s neighbors.
To
walk in the light is to abide in God, that is to obey God's commandments
(2:3-5).
To be righteous is to obey God, to abide in God, to live in God.
This is presented in the next verse of our text.
When the author says
"we know that we have passed from death to life because we love one
another" he is saying that communion with God gives life, leads us to
walk in the light because God is light, leads us to act in righteousness
because He is righteous.
Understanding Love that Promotes Life
39
The use of "brethren" rather than an inclusive word in this
context is to be faithful to the meaning of the Greek word adelphon.
128
For Johannine theology it is impossible to have communion with
God and yet fail to act in love.
element in knowing who is who.
promotes life.
Therefore, love is an essential
As we have seen, love is action that
Only the one who "walks in the light" has life in
themselves and can promote life through their life.
To have life and to
love are closely related so that it is impossible to separate one from
another.
Only the one who has life has love and can therefore promote
life.
This is the reason why John states that "whoever does not love
abides in death".
life.
Who walks in darkness is in death and cannot produce
Who is in death hates his/her brother and sisters.
Rudolf
Schnackenburg40 calls our attention to the moral aspect of this
argumentation.
justice.
To love is moral action producing well-being and
To love is to promote life.
Following this reasoning, the
author states that "we know love by this: that He laid down his life for
us".
Again the opposite ideas are clear: the one who hates his/her
brother or sister is a murderer, the one who loves gives his/her own
life.
The children of the devil kill, the Son of God gave His life for
40
Rudolf Schnackenburg, Cartas de San Juan - Versión,
Introducción y Comentario (Barcelona: Editorial Herder, 1980), 222.
129
us.41
Jesus gave His life in a vicarious way, offering His life on
behalf of all human beings.42
The problem presented by this argumentation is about the meaning
of these words.
John uses an assumed historical event to illustrate how
hating can produce death, and another historical example to illustrate
how love can promote life.
The necessity to interpret these two
examples in a literal way brings some difficulties to understand the
following moral requirement "we ought to lay down our lives for one
another."
I believe it is clear that the author is not talking in a
literal way here, even though he was using literal and concrete
examples.
Rudolf Schnackenburg affirms that opheílomen introduces a new
style, which means that he is shifting from literalism to allegorism.
If it is so, and must be, this phrase can be interpreted as an
equivalent to "to love one another", because one who loves gives his/her
life.
On the other hand, this expression, in spite of its equivalence
to the love commandment, introduces the idea that the highest price that
lovers must pay is the giving of one's life.
If we remember that in those days Christians were being killed
by Domician, the Roman Emperor, we can be tempted to interpret these
41
The phrase uper emôn is translated by Bultmann as "on our
behalf" and by Schnackenburg as "for our good or favor". John 10:11,15
are other passages where these ideas are presented.
42
1 John 2:2 4:10,14. In a concrete way, Jesus died on behalf of
all human beings. Because He died on behalf of them, they can now pass
from death to life, from hating to love.
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words in a literal sense.
text.
Nevertheless, it is not a suicide promoting
It is a life promoting text.
Understanding Love as Transfusion of Life
What is interesting in this text is that John introduces the
idea of sharing resources as a way to love.
My understanding about
sharing is that John uses it as a concrete and practical way on how to
"lay down one's life" in order to promote the
neighbor's life.
For him
God's love implies a love for neighbors, and the concrete way to do it
is by sharing resources.
It is more than a demonstration of compassion.
In my understanding it is a true "laying down one's life".
Every time someone shares what one has, he/she shares not just
things or goods but life itself, because each one world's good
represents time of work and sweat, a period of one's life spent to
achieve that.
When someone gives money it is not just an economic
transaction, but a "life transfusion" because that person worked,
sweated, spent life to earn that money.
Each time someone shares what he/she has, a "transfusion of
life" occurs.
is shared.
This is true when some good is shared and when some gift
A person with a teaching gift is "transfusing life" when
he/she is teaching, because he/she is giving time, knowledge,
experience, thus he/she is giving life.
Whoever receives it, receives
more than knowledge, but receives a dose of life to kill the implanted
death that, in this instance, is ignorance.
love, to promote life, to transfer life.
In this way, to share is to
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Whoever loves, shares life, whoever loves abides in life.
Whoever loves, gives life and resurrects persons from some form of
death.
Love promotes resurrection.
Jesus came to give meaning to life,
to give hope to life, to give victory to life.
He gave the hope of
resurrection, a complete and final victory over death. Resurrection is
something that will happen in the last day, but also something that
happens in daily life.
Every time an implanted death is overcome, life
wins because resurrection happens.
Love promotes resurrection and gives hope to life because love
is creative.
Love is a "transfusion of life" and has the power to push
life forward, to open eyes to the future.
When persons love one another
they are building bridges to the kingdom of God.
They are giving
concrete signs of justice and peace, which are the essence of the
Kingdom of God.43
Love promotes life because it does not put the other
in dependence, or inferiority, or submission.
Rather, love promotes the
other's life, it treats neighbor as equals, creates liberty and freedom.
Love promotes encounters.
Whoever loves, encounters the
neighbor and in the neighbor, encounters God.
43
Whoever loves the
Wolfhart Pannenberg, Teología y Reino de Dios (Salamanca:
Ediciones Sígueme, 1974), 94, said that "The key connection between the
love to God and the love to neighbor is the identity of God with the
Kingdom's coming to this world." Also Paul Ricoeur, História e Verdade
(São Paulo: Companhia Editora Forense, 1968), 101, "At the end of
history there will be an event that will reveal the meaning for all
encounters of history. Encounters like the Samaritan finding the unknown
person that was assaulted: to feed and to give to drink, to receive the
stranger, to dress the naked, to take care of the sick, to visit those
in jail, simple acts, primitive, weak, elaborated by social
institutions...."
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neighbor who is visible and concrete, is able to love the invisible and
concrete God.
Love can reach the enemy, the old, the young, the weak,
the sick, the children, the prostitute, the divorced, the homosexual.
Love is inclusive: it touches anyone.44
This is the way to love in
truth and action and not just in words or speech.
Understanding Ministry as Life Promotion
Jesus uses the example of the good shepherd to say that the good
shepherd gives his/her life to save the flock.
In another passage He
says that He came to give life and life in abundance.
He presents
Himself as a pastor that gives his life for the flock in order to give
them abundant life, Jesus established life as the central motif in His
ministry.
Nevertheless, the act of giving life must be made as an act
of love, and, in Jesus' words, nobody has greater love than to give
their own life in favor of others.
completely true.
In Jesus' ministry this is
He came in love, loved the world, ministered that
love, and, in love, gave his life for all human beings in order to give
them eternal life..
These considerations lead us to conclude that ministry must be a
life-promoting action.
motivation.
44
There is no ministry if life is not the basic
But life is only promoted when love is present, and love is
J. Delbert Erb, Bienaventurados los Pacificadores (Guatemala:
Ediciones Semilla, 1987), 10-11, "Love must not be limited by the
sympathy to the one loves us. Jesus invites us to love everybody
indiscriminately. It is the love without limits that overcomes the
wrath, the prejudices and the egoism."
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a sacrificial life on behalf of others.
Thus, a ministry which is life-
oriented is a ministry which is love-motivated, willing to transfuse
life, even when a sacrifice is required.
The ministry which is life-oriented, must be life-promoting.
This implies that the one who ministries is not only required to
transfuse his/her own life, but has to motivate others to do the same.
Because the transfusion of life is a fight against death, all implanted
death is a threat against abundant life (that must characterize human
life).
A ministry which is life-oriented is a ministry that has a deep
commitment to justice, because injustice is every sort of things that
threatens abundant life.
All the argumentation I have presented here leads us to conclude
that ministry and life are closely related.
A real ministry is a life-
promoting task, where love and the transfusion of life are the basis for
all actions.
CHAPTER 11
CONCLUSION
During the four years that I have been working with the EMC, I
have also developed my studies for this Final Project.
Nevertheless, I
started doing church research in 1978 related to church membership and
the financial situation.
After this first period, I did some research
in the Christian Education field and on methods of evangelization.1 Some
prospective conclusions could be made based on this survey.
When I decided to do this Final Project with two surveys (what
church members have to say about their local church and denomination;
and what they have to say about themselves), I did it in order to use
some previous research experience, and as a way to better understand the
Mennonites in Brazil.
The reason for this was that, after 20 years
working with the Presbyterian church in Brazil (15 years as an ordained
minister), I was moving to another denomination, belonging to a
different theological tradition.
Furthermore, I had in mind some
questions which I was expecting to answer. Why do people belong to one
particular local congregation? What are the motivations people have to
1
I did a research in this area involving 68 churches and about
1800 church members. The main goal of this survey was to discover which
are the most effective methods of evangelization in the Brazilian
context, especially in the area of Sao Paulo State.
134
135
choose and to affiliate themselves as members to one particular
congregation? Which kind of common leadership can we find in the
churches? What are the family roles inside the church? How can family
patterns can affect the church way of being? What are the influences of
the church inside the family system? Is it possible to have a “church
identity?” If it is true that each church is a öne of a kind,” which are
the typologies we have or must develop in order to understand church
identity?
With these goals and questions in front of me, I started my new
job as MTC’s Director in a new denomination and my Final Project.
The integration of these two activities was very helpful for me
in two specific ways: (1) at my work, giving me better understanding
about the EMC identity and mission in order to address theological
education in harmony with the church’s characteristics; and (2) for my
Final Project, giving me a chance to be a participant observer, sharing
through articles, speeches, sermons, classes and Board meetings, the
findings and conclusions I was reaching.
The use of different kinds of interpretation of church identity
by the use of five typologies, a spiritual gift inventory and a survey,
gave me such a wide comprehension of the EMC, that, at certain moments,
I wondered if I could integrate all these data in such a way as to give
theological coherence to this endeavor.
After long periods of study, reviewing data, concluding and
integrating all the information, I feel that I have reached my
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objective: to know the basic characteristics of the EMC, its identity
and mission.
I have a number of key conclusions at the end of this Project.
The first one is that it is possible to discover church identity, and
that each local church and denomination has its own identity.
In order
to discover church identity, we must use a set of three elements:
1.) The historical background of the local congregation or of
the whole denomination.
This historical data is an important element to
interpret the data that that have come out of the research or surveys;
__
``_
____________ `___________
2.)
The use of a combined set of congregational, theological, missiological,
sociological and systemic typologies.
These give a wide and
comprehensive vision of the local church, and as a consequence, of the
whole denomination by the sum of the local church typologies.
__
``_
____________ `___________
3.)
The use of the spiritual gifts inventory, to understand the spiritual
abilities church members have and use which give the local church or
denomination, a characteristic ministry.
The second conclusion is that, using Aulen’s typology, we can
give theological coherence and understanding to the church identity
137
through the analysis of the employed typology and the set of types that
each local church has.
Throughout chapter 9 I showed how it is possible
and useful to discover church identity.
In my opinion, because Aulen’s
typology is concerned with salvation and atonement, it gives a
theological framework to understand what churches believe about Christ’s
salvation and how it influences church mission and identity.
The third conclusion is, at same time, an answer to some of the
initial questions I had when I started this Project, and that are
related to the motivation for church affiliation.
Through my surveys
and personal interviews I have discovered basically four types of
motivation to belong to one particular congregation.
Because of this, I
developed a new typology, using some elements borrowed from the
psychoanalytical approach: oedipical, narcisic, symbolic/linguistic and
utopic motivations.
The use of this new typology proved very helpful in
discovering some key elements for the church identity and mission.
An
example of this is the church that is utopically motivated: it is also
an outwardly oriented church in its mission if the utopia is out of the
congregation (to send missionairies to other places, to develop social
actions); or inwardly oriented if its utopia is inside of the
congregation (to have a good choir, to build a community center, to
develop a specific program for church members).
The fourth conclusion is also the answer to some previous
questions.
It is related to family roles inside the church and how they
are related to church leadership.
Through survey, participatory
138
observation, and research which I did inside the EMC and other churches
belonging to other denominations, I developed a new typology for
Christian leadership where each local church has four types of
leadership: energetic, diaconic, pastoral and theological.
According to
this typology, the energetic leader is in charge to energize the church,
to move the church ahead, to motivate church members to participate in
the church activities, feasts, retreats, programs, etc.
It is the kind
of leader which, when he or she arrives at the church, everybody know
that he or she is there because of the excitement he or she brings with
him or her.
The second type of leadership is in charge of the diaconic area
of the church.
people.
This leader is concerned with church property and needy
The diaconic leadership is responsible to fix what is broken or
needs repair in the church property, and to provide food for hungry
people or money to help some people.
In a certain way, no one else can
change bulbs, move furniture, repair things without the permission of
this leader, what almost always will assume the task, even when there is
someone else willing to do it.
The third type of leader is the pastoral, that is in charge of
the pastoral care of church members and other related people.
This
leader is not necessarily the official pastor of the church, but it is a
person who knows who is sick, who is hospitalized, the unemployed people
in the church, and which are the families that are facing problems.
In
most of the cases, this leader is very helpful to the official pastor of
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the church, helping him or her to develop his or her ministry, joining
him or her for pastoral visitation, giving information on who needs
pastoral attention.
This leader is a very sensitive and affectionate
person, a kind of leader that never causes problems, but, on the
contrary, is loved by everybody.
The fourth type of leadership is the theological leader.
Perhaps, a better word for this leader is the “flame keeper.” This
leader is in charge to watch church programs, Christian education,
sermons and all other activities, in such a way that all of them are
done to preserve church identity.
If something is done in such a way
that goes in a different direction to the historical and theological
traditions, this leader will rise his or her voice to oppose.
He or she
is in charge to maintain church identity.
During my research for this leadership typology I have
discovered that, in almost all churches, which I studied, these types of
leadership are not developed by an individual person, but by a family.
In this sense, I am saying that families (in most of the cases it is a
nuclear family, but I have found some examples of extended families too)
model behaviors identified as energetic, diaconic, pastoral or
theological models of leadership in the church.2 Thus, I am talking
2
In my investigations I have wondered if I have to include a
fifth type of leadership: the giver. I have found that every church has
a person that is known as the “giver,” not only because of the tithe,
but also because he or she is willing to give beyond his or her tithe.
However, I have discovered that, in most of the cases, this type of
leader prefers to do it anonymously, and they refuse to use it as a
power or influence over church decisions.
140
about family leadership inside the church, and about family roles as
diaconic, pastoral energetic or flame-keepers.
The fifth conclusion is related to the previous one, and is
concerned with church division and/or church conflicts.
I have
discovered that church conflicts, in most of the cases, do not involve
individuals, but families.
Looking at some churches that have split, I
have discovered that the line of division divides groups of families
instead of persons.
The reasons for this are multiple, and one of them
is: church conflicts arises because of leadership conflict.
When a
church has two families disputing which one is the “flame keeper
family,” or the diaconic family, or any other type of leadership, a
conflict rises and it ends when one of the families moves to another
congregation or the church splits, and each family takes one side of the
division.
The sixth conclusion is regarding an integration of all used and
proposed typologies.
Using the systemic model proposed by E. Wertheim,3
that sets four types of systems: open, semi-open, semi-closed and closed
systems.
I have found that all typologies that were used and proposed
in this Project can fit into this systemic typology.
The following
table shows it.
Table 5 - Integrative table of all studied and proposed typologies
3
E. Wertheim. Family Unite Therapy and the Science and Typology
of Family Systems. Quoted by Lynn Hoffman, Fundamentos de la Terapia
Familiar - Un Marco Conceptual para el Cambio de Sistemas (Mexico: Fondo
de Cultura Económica, 1992), 95.
141
Open
Semi-open
Semi-closed
Closed
Gnostic
Charismatic
Empiric
Canonic
Political
Civic
Evangelistic
Sanctuary
Evangelism is
Politics
Conversion and
Political
Reestructuring
are Equally
Important
The Pririty
Mission of the
Church is
Evangelism
The Priority
Mission of the
Church is the
Body of
Believers
Christ the
Transformer of
the Culture
Christ of
Culture
Christ Above
Culture and
Christ and
Culuture in
Paradox
Christ Against
Culture
Subjective
Classic
Energizer
Pastoral
Diaconic
Theological
Oedipical
Symbolic
Utopic
Narcisic
Legalist or
Latin
According to this integrative table, there are two types that
are outwardly oriented (open and semi-open), and two types that are
inwardly oriented (semi-closed and closed).
It is very helpful to
understand church identity and mission, and the expected role that
pastors must play inside each local church.
An energetic pastor who
tries to move a closed system church outward, will face problems in
reaching his or her goal.
The same is true for an open system church
that is pastored by a canonic pastor who tries to hold the system
closed.
Therefore, this systemic approach is also helpful to evaluate
the level of openness that a particular church has to change.
Open
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systems show more willingness to change, and closed systems are
conservative, refusing changes.
The seventh conclusion is that churches, as systems, are formed
by sub-systems which are the family systems that form the congregation.
These family systems function in the same way in the home and in
church.
A patriarchal model of family does not change to a democratic
model when family members participate together at the church.
The
patriarch still holds his power over his family members, even when they
are in the church.
Therefore, family structures of power and binding
affect the way that churches are.
On the other hand, it is also true
that church doctrines and communion affect the family systems.
A
patriarchal theology will reinforce patriarchal models of family.
But,
if a patriarchal family belongs to a church that has a democratic
system, the church teachings affect family system, producing some
changes.
Analyzing the previous conclusion through the motivation for
church affiliation, we can say that open church systems have the ability
to attract open family systems.
The same is true for closed church
systems that are more able to receive in affiliation closed families.
It is so because of the symbolic/linguistic motivation that moves people
to belong to congregations that are formed by like-minded people.
quite impossible to have an open family in a closed church.
It is
Or the
family will feel uncomfortable in the church, or the congregation will
look at them as strangers.
143
In addition to these conclusions, there are some questions that
were raised by this Project.
Some of them are still without answers.
Others are in the process of being worked out to find some answers.
Among the last group are the questions that were raised in the chapter
about spiritual gifts.
The fact that some gifts are predominantly found
in some churches, raised the question if spiritual gifts are real gifts
or products of some circumstance.
These questions go against the prevalent theological
understanding that spiritual gifts are real gifts, and that the Holy
Spirit gives it according to His will and in a balanced way in order to
have all of them in a particular church as a way to have a harmonic
growth.
This understanding does not consider any external influences to
have some spiritual gift.
However, the spiritual gift inventory showed
some level of concentration of spiritual gifts in the researched
churches.
Two answers can be given to this question: the Holy Spirit
concentrates some particular gifts in one church as a way to give to
this community its identity and mission.
How could we have an
evangelistic church if this church does not have people with the
spiritual gift of evangelists? The second possible answer is that the
Holy Spirit uses local churches to concentrate spiritual gifts in order
to train, to develop them through the contact, ministry and teaching of
one another.
The second possibility of answering is that spiritual gifts are
not real gifts, but product of certain conditions.
Using the thesis of
144
Pierre Bourdieu and Jean Claude Passeron,4 we can conclude that churches
are pedagogical institutions, teaching people to have some abilities,
and that, any educational process reproduces what is taught, especially
the official version of the truth.
Thus if we have a pastor or any
other strong leader in the church teaching by formal or informal
methods, the ability this leader has will be reproduced in the people
that are learning from him or her.
called making disciples.
In the theological world it is
Therefore, each one of us, with our particular
spiritual ability, is charged to make disciples, that means, to
reproduce, to train others to do what we do.
The third possible answer is that, because of the motivation for
church affiliation, people look for congregations where they “feel
good,” they “feel at home.” Thus, a person who has the gift of mercy
will feel comfortable belonging and congregating with other people that
have the same vision and ministry.
Because of this, we can find some
level of concentration of spiritual gifts in one particular church or
denomination.
Finally, I want to share some consequences of this Project for
my ministry, for the EMC, for other churches and denominations and the
plans I have to use this Project in the future.
Being the MTC´s Director, a new direction was given to the
theological education process developed inside the denomination,
4
Pierre Bourdieu and Jean Claude Passeron. A Reprodução Elementos para uma Teoria do Sistema de Ensino, (Rio de Janeiro:
Livraria Francisco Alves Editora S.A., 1975)
145
especially addressing the need to have a better articulated theology
that embraces not only the “spiritual area”, but also “worldly issues.”
The most important aspect is that, because of the conclusions of
this Project, a new theological education program was developed.
Based
on the conclusion that almost all theological education programs try to
teach a whole set of courses to everybody, with no distinction between
personal characteristics and abilities, the MTC developed the Christian
Leadership Program.
This program has the goal of training each student
according to the spiritual ability he/she has.
He/she is supposed to
take classes on the subjects that will help him/her to develop his/her
abilities.
Thus, people who do have ability to teach will receive
training and knowledge to do it better.
Another aspect that I have contributed to the EMC is through the
theological statement, proposing a theology of a life-centered ministry.
As I have been sharing this theological statement with the pastors and
church members, I feel that many of them have started using death and
life as the paradigms for personal and church decisions, and to shape
their ministry.
With regards to church identity, because the conclusions of this
Project were shared with the EMC’s church members through the
denominational magazine and at the National Assembly, a new
understanding and vision about the church emerged.
Some complaints
about church growth (“we are not growing as other churches are;” “there
is something wrong in the Mennonite church”) were gradually replaced by
146
a fresh commitment to serve and to help others, that fits better into
the EMC’s identity mission.
Because of this Project and the need for this kind of study
inside other denominations, I received several invitations to share with
other churches and denominations the conclusions of this Project.
For
this purpose I shared with Presbyterians (the Independent Presbyterian
Church and the Presbyterian Church of Brasil), the Independent Baptist
Church and the Methodist Church.
All these activities gave the idea of the need of this kinds of
studies among the evangelical churches in Brazil.
In order to help
these churches to know which kind of churches they are and what type of
mission they have, I started a project as church consultant, offering to
local churches and denominations the whole set of surveys and spiritual
gift inventory.
I also had the opportunity to publish 32 articles and interviews
in different newspapers and magazines, sharing some conclusions from
this Project.
I feel that I had to leave out of my Project many important
data.
This is particularly true when I consider the possibilities of
crossing spiritual gifts with each typology used, in order to see if
there are correlations between particular gifts and typologies.
What I have presented here in this Final Project Report gives a
good idea of what the EMC is, the strength and weakness of that
147
denomination, and, it is my prayer, that it is a way to help the EMC´s
to improve its mission.
Rev. Marcos Roberto Inhauser
June, 1997
APPENDIX 1
INTERVIEW WITH SUSE PENNER, EVANGELICAL MENNONITE CHURCH OF JARDIM NOVA
EUROPA MEMBER.
Date: 09/28/95
Taped, transcribed and edited.
Há quanto tempo você está na Igreja Menonita no Brasil?
28 anos.
Você começou onde? Em Palmeira?
Não, eu comecei em Araguacema. Nós chegamos em Araguacema em Lua
de Mel, nós casamos e fomos para Araguacema direto. Comprei um
véu, porque os menonitas lá usavam véu.
Porque os menonitas que foram para lá eram os Menonitas Holderman. Que
tipo de menonita começou em Araguacema? Porque era um pessoal do Vale
Amazonico, não era?
Era uma missão da igreja conservadora lá dos Estados Unidos e era
um pastor que fez campanhas evangelísticas nos Estados Unidos e
que tinha um chamado de Deus para trabalhar entre os índios da
Amazônia. Chegaram em Belém. Queriam trabalhar entre os índios e
ali se encontraram com o prefeito de Araguacema. Não sei através
de quem nem como eles entraram em contato com esse prefeito, que
os convidou e dizendo que em Araguacema haviam índios.
Isso no começo não estava vinculado à AEM?
Não.
E houve problema com a missão a ponto de mais tarde pedirem a vinculação
à AEM
Houve um problema lá na missão.
Com um missionário?
Um missionário matou uma moça e se suicidou.
Essa é uma versão da história?
Como uma versão?
Que ele matou a moça e se suicidou, porque parece que a família nega
essa versão.
Não, isso não é uma versão, isso é uma realidade.
Eu tenho a informação de que alguém escreveu um livro contando essa
história e a família bloqueou o livro porque não queria que essa
história saísse.
Quando nós chegamos lá em Araguacema essa história era muito nova.
A mãe da moça contou toda a história. A missão talvez não queria
dizer que o homem estava com distúrbios mentais.
148
Quando você fala em trabalho missionário a impressão que eu tenho, é que
o trabalho missionário no Brasil não obedeceu um planejamento. Cada um
fez o que bem queria. É essa a realidade ou você tem outra visão? Cada
missionário da MBM, COM que veio para cá foi fazer o que quis?
Essa é minha impressão também. Que cada missionário vinha aqui e
fazia o que queria, mas eles tem uma visão diferente da nossa,
eles dão liberdade. Eu acho que a COM não é tanto assim. A MBM é
mais.
Eu percebi que há uma tensão muito forte entre a igreja nacional e o
missionário. Isso eu percebi em Curitiba e depois em algumas outras
situações.
Eu não sei. Talvez só com algumas pessoas. Houve uma época em que
foi muito mais acentuado do que é agora.
Você que trabalhou na região IV: eu já ouvi mais de uma vez que uma
característica da região IV é ser pechincheira, de esperar que as coisas
todas sejam dadas de presente. É isso mesmo, é uma característica da
região, ou é uma característica do início do trabalho?
Eu acho que é uma característica do início do trabalho, porque
esses primeiros missionários que começara, justamente esse que se
matou, ele levou muito dinheiro para lá, e a igreja estava cheia
em pouco tempo. Depois, quando nós estávamos lá, eles falavam:
aquela família era da igreja, aquela família frequentava igreja. O
sistema dele era batizar assim que a pessoa se decidia. O José
Brito foi batizado bêbado. Ele foi ao culto e se converteu. Meio
bêbado ainda foi batizado na mesma hora. Mas o batismo dele valeu
porque depois disto, ele nunca mais bebeu. Mas muita gente foi lá
só por causa da ajuda que se distribuia. O missionário fazia
campanha nos Estados Unidos, juntava o dinheiro e distribuia entre
as pessoas.
Uma coisa que eu disse na Conferência Nacional é que a identidade da
Igreja Menonita não é, evangelisticamente falando, agressiva. Ela é uma
igreja diaconal, uma igreja de serviço.
É verdade.
O trabalho que é feito em Araguacema, é o trabalho mais forte dos
menonitas?
Sim. O de Curitiba é um trabalho forte também.
E você acha que o trabalho em Araguacema é entendido como um trabalho da
AEM, das igrejas ou é uma coisa que as igrejas dão apoio legal, mas é
uma coisa à parte. Como é que você que esteve lá e aqui, vê esta
questão? É uma coisa que é da igreja? Eu não conheço as igrejas da
região IV. Elas sentem que é um trabalho nosso ou é um trabalho de um
grupo?
Nem mesmo na AEM se sente que é um trabalho da AEM. Aqui do sul,
eu acho que tem gente que até é contra o que se faz lá. Na minha
opinião, a briga que existe lá é justamente por causa da escola,
por causa do poder. Porque a escola recebe muito dinheiro de fora.
Como é que você vê a nível nacional, a tensão entre o pessoal da região
III e o pessoal da região I, sobre a questão litúrgica, de cânticos e
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tudo o que estorou na Conferência Nacional? Você acha que tem uma
disputa de poder também?
Acho que sim, e muito cuidado porque o tesoureiro, o secretário, o
presidente são todos de lá. Acho que tem que ficar atento.
Isso é uma coisa que me preocupa. Eu disse outro dia na reunião da
Comissão de literatura que uma característica da Igreja Menonita no
Brasil é que é uma igreja oral, que tem pouca coisa escrita. A segunda
característica que eu vejo é que é uma igreja que demora prá tomar uma
decisão.
Isso já vem do começo, porque essa igreja é nova. Ainda tudo é dos
missionário, ela não tomou ainda sua própria dinâmica.
Não é um pouco dos grupos menonitas, anabatistas? Eu já sentia isso nos
Brethren. É muito assim de vamos fazer uma comissão, vamos estudar o
assunto, vamos conversar mais sobre isso. É mais uma decisão por
consenso que uma decisão por maioria. É muito lento esse processo. O
Teodoro trabalhou como Secretário Executivo da igreja. Você acha que o
fato de não ter mais um Secretário Executivo a igreja perdeu ou ganhou?
Eu acho que a igreja perdeu. Precisa-se de uma pessoa que se
dedique a esse trabalho.
Com tempo, para um trabalho preventivo.
Justamente um trabalho preventivo. Eu acho que faz falta, faz
muita falta. Por exemplo, esse presidente, secretário, 2º
tesoureiro. Eles tem seu trabalho, não tem tempo disponível para
fazer viagem e coisa assim.
Isso é uma das coisas que eu sinto. Nós temos trinta e poucas igrejas e
as únicas coisas que congregam essas igrejas é que todas elas crêem que
a Bíblia é a Palavra de Deus, todas elas afirmam batisto de adulto e
todas elas tem sua propriedade registrada em nome da AEM. Nada mais une
essas igrejas. A outra coisa que eu vejo é o seguinte: a região I é um
protestantismo histórico, meio luterano, presbiteriano, numa liturgia
mais reverente, famílias tradicionais dentro das igrejas. Na região de
São Paulo com exceção de Valinhos e Campinas, você tem uma igreja
batista. Campinas é mais presbiteriana, e Valinhos é mais Assembléia de
Deus.
APPENDIX 2
INTERVIEW WITH ELAINE KAUFFMANN, NORTH AMERICAN MISSIONARY
Date: 09/27/95
Taped, transcribed and edited.
Quanto tempo você está trabalhando com a AEM?
Desde 1982, oficialmente.
E sempre na função de tesoureira da igreja?
Não exatamente. Eu vim em 1974 para lecionar Matemática. Ensinei
oito anos e meio, a convite da AEM. A AEM estendeu o convite, pelo
menos quando eu fui para férias, era a entidade oficial para
conseguir o visto. Em 1982 fechou a escola e Eduardo tinha sido
tesoureiro.
A escola era menonita?
Não, a escola era da missão presbiteriana. Quatro anos em Brasília
eu frequentava uma igreja no Gama, depois fui para outro lugar
onde fiquei quatro anos e meio. Lá não tem igreja menonita. Nem
com as igrejas em Goiânia praticamente eu não tinha contato. Em
1981 me convidaram para participar da Comissão de Literatura. Em
1982 o Eduardo foi eleito tesoureiro da Associação. Ele aceitou
ser tesoureiro se tivesse uma ajuda, e eu virei aquela ajuda.
Nesse período de um ano eu aprendi a mexer com livro diário, fazer
banco e tudo o que eu sei de contabilidade começou aí. Eu nunca
tinha feito nada nessa parte. Fiquei até o fim de 1983. Era um
trabalho parcial. Eu substituia na escola americana e fazia outras
coisas. Trabalhei um pouco com o Intercâmbio. Depois fui para
Estados Unidos e fiquei um ano e meio e em 1985 quando eu voltei
fui eleita tesoureira da AEM nacional. Eu disse para onde eu vou?
E me convidaram para chegar em Campinas porque o Roberto Gerber
teve que sair de repente para os Estados Unidos e a casa que
estava sob cuidado do casal e Kenneth e Grace estavam indo para
Brasília para ajudar a livraria de lá, e eles achavam que eu faria
alguma coisa em tempo parcial no CEMTE, e em Campinas que tinha os
escritórios, e acabei fazendo a tesouraria e ajudando o
Intercâmbio Menonita e realmente não fiz quase nada com o CEMTE.
Davi logo chegou e Eleonora queria servir em algum sentido então
ela ficou como secretária dele.
Nesse tempo em que você mexeu com a contabilidade da igreja você acha
que administrativamente a igreja tem melhorado ou ainda é muito
bagunçada a coisa dentro da igreja?
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Em termos de receber os relatórios das igrejas, eu diria que tem
melhorado. Em geral os relatórios são bem feitos, e
administrativamente é meio difícil dizer porque o Osvaldo que era
presidente num período não tem o mesmo tipo de sistema. O
pensamento segue fácil. Eu sigo muito bem o Hans, eu sigo mais ou
menos o Antônio Carlos. Aprecio muito o Antônio Carlos, acho que
como uma pessoa que tem capacidade de calcular as coisas de ouvir,
de responder, em termos de administração o Hans é uma pessoa que
faz o meu gênero. Acho um pouco difícil avaliar em termos de
administração, por duvidar que estou avaliando o que eu aprecio.
Em termos de valores de arrecadação você acha que as igrejas têm
aumentado arrecadação? A sua impressão é que as igrejas estão melhores
financeiramente?
Eu acho que a AEM tem tido pessoas que ajudaram a enxergar que não
é para tentar continuar com uma coisa que simplesmente não vai. É
melhor fechar e não tentar empurrar o barco que está furado. Por
exemplo Primavera, Jundiaí, São Carlos.
São Carlos eu não sei se chegou a funcionar, pelo menos do tempo que eu
estive em São Carlos a informação que tive é que nem chegou a funcionar
a igreja. Como missionária estrangeira trabalhando dentro da AEM, como
é que você sente essa relação com a igreja nacional? Você acha que é um
trabalho cooperativo.
A minha visão é cooperativa. Eu sinto isso diferente em regiões.
Na região IV eu sinto que temos uma região, não tanto quanto
antes, é uma região pechincheira, uma região que acha que a região
vai pagar tudo ou que estamos nisso para receber. Eu sinto isso
muito menos na região III, que tem tido períodos em que era o
cérebro da coisa, que tinha mais pessoas envolvidas na região I e
agora está voltando para a região III. A região II é uma coisa um
pouquinho diferente. Eu nunca trabalhei na região II, e também
administrativamente e financeiramente. A minha impressão é que é
cooperativa lá mas tem uma certa tensão entre as igrejas.
A impressão que tenho, vendo, perguntando, é que não houve um projeto
missionário menonita para o Brasil. Houveram missionários que vieram,
mas não um planejamento de trabalho missionário que dissesse "nós vamos
atacar aqui e depois isso", e que ficou muito solto. Um pessoal para cá,
outro prá lá e cria livraria e depois cria escola, coisa assim. A
impressão que dá vendo isso hoje, é que não havia um projeto. Haviam
missionários enviados para fazer o que eles quisessem. Como é que você
vê isso?
Eu acho que isso é mais ou menos certo. A Junta de Missões, por
vários anos, era quem enviava missionários. Haviam pessoas que
vieram para São Paulo e estabeleceram as igrejas em Indianápolis,
Sertãozinho e Valinhos. Isso foi mais intencional que o resto que
aconteceu. Houveram os que eram menonitas mas não vieram pela
igreja menonita. Estabeleceram e organizaram uma entidade
totalmente paralela no Amazonas. Aí teve o problema com o Howard e
o desenvolvimento de toda a bagunça que se desenvolveu lá e as
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pessoas que vinham sem liderança e sem apoio. O chefe do
departamento de missões veio ao Brasil, visitou Araguacema e
resolveu que devia dar apoio. Isso deixou de repente dois pontos
bem distantes, Araguacema e São Paulo.
Tenho a impressão de que isto está muito ligado com a figura do Allen
Martin, porque ele trabalhava com livros e foi ele quem iniciou a
livraria de Taguatinga, porque da entrevista que tive com ele em 1993,
ele me contou um pouco isso, que era visão pessoal deles. Agora aqui em
Campinas, a livraria começou pela inexistência de uma livraria. Aí vem
um pouco que tanto no Allen Martin quanto nas entrevistas que eu já fiz
sobre a questão da livraria de Campinas, a motivação missionária não era
evangelística, era de serviço, e por isso eu disse na Conferência
Nacional que a característica dessa igreja não é ser evangelística mas
ser diaconal.
Foi bem colocado, inclusive a minha impressão é, pelo que eu tenho
ouvido missionários falando, quando vieram os primeiros
missionários, não vieram convictos de que era para estabelecer uma
igreja menonita aqui no Brasil, e bem que eram estrangeiros e
refrearam um pouco naquela época falar sobre serviço militar, é
uma coisa que não convinha ao estrangeiro dizer que não deve fazer
guerra.
E o interessante é que a presença missionária no Brasil, ela vem um
pouco antes da revolução, passou todo o período da revolução e eu não
consegui encontrar até agora, nenhuma manifestação de missionários ou da
igreja através do Intercâmbio e coisa e tal, contra qualquer coisa
militarista durante esse período.
E você não acha. Eu fiquei espantada quando cheguei aqui. Na minha
juventude e inocência achando que entre os menonitas existissem
pessoas, jovens, servindo no exército lá em Brasília e
frequentando a igreja.
Esse mesmo choque eu tive quando eu descobri que nós tínhamos membros da
igreja que pertencia a polícia, como é o caso de Ceilândia. São vários,
e por exemplo um pastor era funcionário do exército que era o Alfred
Pauls, ainda que fosse na área médica.
Não somente isso, mas Alfred Pauls era presidente da Associação na
época
Mais o Cláudio Divino que é da Justiça Militar. Então isso me deu um nó
na cabeça, aí vem uma outra pergunta, até que ponto a Igreja Menonita do
Brasil é Anabatista?
Eu não acho que é muito anabatista. Em parte eu culpo os
missionários, não sei se culpa é a palavra certa, eles não tinham
a convicção de que era para estabelecer mais uma denominação, se
bem que eventualmente foram convencidos disso mas não tinham
aquela convicção de que a paz faz parte do evangelho, para eles
pessoalmente sim, mas não era parte do evangelho que pregavam.
Isso eu senti um pouco na entrevista que eu fiz com o Glenn Musselman.
Ele é um dos primeiros.
Ele e o Hochstetler que estavam aqui.
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Tem um outro casal. Não sei se você chegou a conhecer Margaret?
Daria para você entrar em contato com eles eu tenho telefone.
A minha visão da igreja hoje é a seguinte, nós temos na região I,
igrejas que se parecem muito mais com a igreja batista.
E outras que parecem presbiteriana.
Aqui, em Campinas tem uma forte tendência presbiteriana, com vários
membros que vieram de lá, muitos pastores presbiterianos que pregaram
durante esses tempos aí, e Valinhos que é uma coisa meio à parte, mas
Lapa, Interlagos, Sertãozinho, Ribeirão tem esse jeitão batista; a
região II tem o jeitão luterano, mais tradicional uma liturgia mais
pesada, muita questão étnica, famílias tradicionais; a região III tem um
jeitão da comunidade há uma ênfase mais no louvor e na oração do que na
exposição da Palavra e no sermão; na região IV eu não consegui definir
até hoje o que é, com o que se parece; e a região V tem um jeitão bem
batista, mesmo porque dois ou três dos que são líderes lá hoje vieram da
igreja batista. O que faz com que essas trinta e poucas igrejas estejam
juntas?
É meio difícil descobrir, a origem dos fundos que comprou os
terrenos, alguma coisa.
Em outras palavras você está dizendo que é identidade pela propriedade.
Eu não iria tão longe para dizer é só isso, mas é a primeira coisa
que vem na minha cabeça.
Porque essa é uma pergunta que eu estou fazendo, desde o primeiro dia em
que eu entrei aqui: qual é a identidade da igreja menonita, o que é que
faz com que essas igrejas estejam juntas? E eu não consegui descobrir.
Por exemplo, existem alguns pontos básicos: todas elas aceitam a Palavra
de Deus como regra infalível de fé e prática, seguem batismo de adultos.
Mas o que ocorre é que além disso eu não tenho encontrado outros pontos
comuns a todas as igrejas. A liturgia não é a mesma, a ênfase na
pregação não é a mesma, a forma de entender a igreja e seu governo não é
a mesma. Você tem igrejas com um modelo mais representativo, outras com
um modelo mais congregacional, há igrejas que não tem presbíteros, e
igrejas que tem, e há igrejas que tem diáconos e outras não. O que me
chama a atenção é que a tensão da igreja hoje não é uma tensão
eclesiológica no sentido de governo de igreja, batistmo, santa ceia,
ordenação de pastores. A tensão da igreja é litúrgica: como fazer o
culto, se tem muito corinho, se tem oração, se expulsa demônios. A
questão de expulsar demônios e falar em línguas também não é teológica:
é uma questão litúrgica.
Um dos motivos de, no princípio, procurar estabelecer o
treinamento teológico, era justamente isso: que os pastores vinham
de tantos treinamentos, alguns de seminários batistas, ou
presbiterianos, cada um de lugar bem diferente e a idéia é que nós
precisávamos unir o nosso entendimento.
Agora você vê. O Seja nasceu com a ênfase anabatista, e só agora no ano
passado com o livro VII é que começou a se fazer isso. Demorou dez anos
para se fazer isso. Por outro lado se você pega os cursos oferecidos
pelo CEMTE: os mais ministrados até hoje foram Escatologia e Vida
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Devocional. Teologia Anabatista e História da Igreja Anabatista não
foram ministrados num nível que se se possa dizer que se deu a devida
ênfase.
Ninguém se interessa. Eu sei que é uma coisa mais teórica, mais
intelectual e nós estamos lidando com um povo que não é tão
intelectual.
Sem treinamento acadêmico para isso.
Academicismo não é o forte dentro das igrejas menonitas.
O nível de educação teológica e o nível de educação dos membros da
igreja é baixo. Eu percebi isso nos questionários. Muitos não
responderam os questionários porque não entenderam as palavras.
Seria interessante fazer o mesmo questionários com outros termos.
Talvez.
E ver que tipo de respostas, e você atingiria uma outra faixa de
pessoas.
Você está deixando a igreja, quais os temores que você tem para essa
igreja no futuro?
Acho que a divisão que eu estou vendo, na base do que nós vimos na
Conferência em Goiânia, isso me incomoda. Eu não sei. Não sou
muito de ver lá para frente, eu me preocupo com o que está
acontecendo na minha frente, não tenho perspectiva para ver além.
Em termos de administração, coisas de tesouraria. Um dos meus
medos seria a possibilidade de receber esse subsídio da venda
daquela casa em Brasília. Estou imaginando que vai ser dividido, e
eu tenho um pouco medo de que isso vai ser utilizado para pagar
despesas durante vários anos e vai sumindo. Eu sei que tem pessoas
com a visão de que precisamos administrar isso de uma forma que
vire uma fundação da qual nós podemos sempre ter o sustento, para
parte do programa. Uma das minhas esperanças é exatamente o
oposto, que a igreja possa realmente assumir a responsabilidade
financeira das utilidades da igreja e levar isso para frente e se
tornar independente do apoio das igrejas de fora. O que eu estou
vendo é que isso vai continuar. Tem coisas que eu estou vendo
acontecer nos Estados Unidos eu acho que...
A mina seca muito antes do que a gente esperava.
Os Estados Unidos se acham o big brother de todo mundo. Mas eu
acho que isso não vai continuar. A sociedade está caminhando em
direções espantosas que vai se destruir.
Você acha que a falta de um planejamento, de uma estratégia de ação da
igreja tem ajudado essa multiplicidade de coisas, e também uma certa
ineficácia administrativa, vendendo propriedade sem certos critérios,
como o negócio da propriedade de Brasília, que foi vendida sem um
levantamento da igreja para ver o que que era. É verdade que a missão
que tomou a decisão, mas de qualquer forma. Por exemplo, o templo de São
Carlos, o templo de Jundiaí, o templo acho que é Vila Bonilha em São
Paulo, a livraria de Taguatinga, foram propriedades que foram vendidas
sem um planejamento do que fazer, reinvestir, uma estratégia
missionária.
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Eu não sei. A Regional I tem vendido a maioria dessas
propriedades, e a região I não tem muito interesse em ouvir
palpites de missionários. Eu achei que a região tinha
planejamento, eu não sei se foi bom planejamento, se foi possível
realizar o que queriam, me parece que é muito desgastante dessas
regiões. Há uma certa descontinuidade com o planejamento. Tem que
ter muita garra para uma coisa dessas e continuar com o
pensamento, eu acho que esse é um dos problemas que temos tido.
E outra coisa também, na minha visão é o seguinte, é uma igreja.
Não que eu acho que igreja tem que ter dono.
Não, aqui chega um ponto que tem sido a minha preocupação, primeiro não
existe um líder nacional na igreja, um sujeito, com exceção do Hans que
todo mundo diz que "esse aí, tem um consenso nacional", talvez o Cláudio
mais prá frente, mas o próprio Antônio Carlos o pessoal não vê como
alguém de Itatiaia, o Hans é o único que o pessoal parece que tem uma
certa facilidade. E o jeitão dele. Ninguém vai dizer que ele é membro do
Xaxim.
Não ele é o vice-presidente da AEM.
Agora o Antônio Carlos, sendo presidente falam "ele é presidente do
Itatiaia". A outra coisa é a seguinte: a igreja não tem nenhum teólogo,
que seja referencial teológico quando tem qualquer dúvida "vamos
perguntar para fulano porque esse é reconhecido." Teria que ser o Peter
fazendo isso.
Ele não tem a personalidade.
E não é da personalidade dele, e não espere do Peter uma declaração
cortante.
Nunca.
Não é dele. Em terceiro lugar não existe um líder carismático, no
sentido de energizar a igreja, de movimentar, de chamar a igreja para
frente. Eu vejo aí um pouco que quem faz isso é a Anna Schroeder, na
igreja dela, ela é essa energizadora. Mas não existe no nível nacional
alguém fazendo isso.
Sabe quem eu vi fazer isso a nível nacional pela última vez:
aquele que era pastor em Gama, o primeiro pastor oficial de lá,
famoso pelos gráficos que ele apresentava, era muita estatísticas.
Depois o Teodoro entrou como Secretário Executivo e ele teve, por
ter morado em Araguacema, por ter pastoreado em Araguacema, ele
tinha boa aceitação lá, e também no sul porque trabalhou, aqui na
região I. Ele era visto mais como indeciso.
APPENDIX 3
INTERVIEW WITH GLENN MUSSELMAN, ONE OF THE FIRTS NORTH AMERICAN
MENNONITE TO COME TO BRAZIL
Date: July 27, 1995.
Taped, transcribed and edited
Estamos em Goiânia entrevistando o Pastor Glenn Musselman um dos
primeiros missionários da Igreja Menonita no Brasil que está de regresso
para visitas às igrejas e tudo depois de um tempo fora do país.
Pastor Glenn, o senhor veio no Brasil a primeira vez em que ano?
No ano outubro de 1955, quando o presidente Kubitschek foi eleito.
Naquele mesmo dia foi a eleição.
O senhor foi um dos primeiros ou o primeiro missionário que veio pela
MBM?
Não. Dois casais chegaram um ano antes: David Hochstetler e sua
esposa e eu e minha esposa viemos no ano seguinte.
Porque a MBM decidiu começar trabalhar no Brasil, uma vez que já havia
Igreja Menonita no Brasil?
Eles acharam que o Brasil era um campo de missionário para
implantar igrejas, porque as igrejas que tinham vindo como
colônias não estavam fundando igrejas naquela ocasião. Estavam
novatos no Brasil no ano 1930 até 1955, mantendo a língua alemã e
as suas colônias, mas não fundando igrejas e nossa intenção foi
fundar igrejas em língua portuguesa.
A vinda da MBM se deveu a um pedido da Igreja Menonita que já estava no
Brasil ou é uma iniciativa da Igreja Menonita dos Estados Unidos.
Eu creio que era uma iniciativa dos Estados Unidos, da MBM de
Elkhart, Indiana. Depois da Segunda Guerra Mundial, eles sentiram
uma expansão para o Japão, Brasil e outros países e nós éramos
parte daqueles jovens que sentiram impulso depois da Segunda
Guerra Mundial de sair para os campos e novos países.
A que se deve esse impulso que o senhor relaciona logo depois da Segunda
Guerra Mundial. O que que houve na guerra, no resultado da guerra, que
levou a haver essa onda missionária nos Estados Unidos?
Porque os jovens menonitas que tinham convicções contra guerra
ficaram em trabalhos alternativos. Os estudos ficaram parados,
então depois da guerra a pessoa tinha mais liberdade de continuar
nos estudos, e também o trabalho missionário clamou para muitos
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voluntários. Os primos de minha esposa também foram nessa onda
para Argentina e Japão.
Deve-se também essa onda, um despertar anabatista, ao desejo de lutar
contra violência, contra guerra? Havia aí uma consciência de que não
podia mais haver guerra logo depois da Segunda Mundial, porque com todo
o massacre dos judeus, havia um momento mais propício para a missão
anabatista nesse momento?
As populações como Japão e Brasil, países em desenvolvimento acho
que chamou, a missão então decidiu e abriu novos trabalhos no
Brasil, Japão, e outros países e a idéia foi pelo menos, para nós,
evangelismo, plantar igrejas e não foi dada tanta ênfase em falar
sobre a parte do pacifismo. O Brasil era conhecido naquele tempo
não como um país envolvido em ações bélicas.
Agora, quando o senhor diz que era uma visão de evangelismo, o que é que
o senhor quer dizer com evangelismo: é salvação de almas, é serviço
social, são as duas coisas andando juntas? O que é que estava aí? O que
era isso: era novo nascimento, arrependimento, conversão?
É mais a idéia de novo nascimento, arrependimento, conversão mas
dentro de um ambiente de fundar uma igreja local numa cidade,
educar os crentes na vida cristã. Não era evangelismo de massas,
em praças, mas fundar igrejas que poderiam tornar-se autosutentáveis.
Como é que dentro dessa visão se explica o fato de que a Igreja Menonita
no Brasil se caracterizou por estabelecer, no seu início, escolas,
livrarias, uma editora, pronto socorro, hospital, e coisas assim?
Porque a nossa visão não era simplesmente o evangelismo em si mas
alcançando a parte da literatura. O David Hochstetler sentiu este desejo
de abrir a livraria em Campinas e quando fizemos os estatutos da AEM
incluía a idéia das escolas e a parte agrícola, a de obras sociais,
porque faziam parte de nosso passado, nossa bagagem nos Estados Unidos.
Havia também aquele pensamento de suprir as necessidades tanto
espirituais como materiais das pessoas.
Uma questão que se coloca: como é que o senhor acha que a Igreja
Menonita no Brasil é reconhecida - como uma igreja evangelística ou como
uma igreja disposta ao serviço?
Eu creio que é mais evangelística. Não no Nordeste, onde o MCC
está trabalhando, os menonitas lá são conhecidos mais pela obra
social porque trabalham em diversos locais, comunidades e cooperam
com entidades católicas e não estão com o propósito de fundar
igrejas nestes locais.
Havia no início um plano de estabelecimento de igrejas locais
estabelecendo critérios geográficos, densidade geográfica, de presença
de outras igrejas, ou isso se deu mais ou menos espontaneamente?
David Hochstetler e eu fizemos uma viagem depois de concluir
nossos estudos de português, para descobrir cidades e locais onde
havia falta de igrejas evangélicas. Então escolheu-se Valinhos,
naquele tempo uma cidade em desenvolvimento mas com pouca presença
evangélica. Em Sertãozinho não havia nenhum templo evangélico, só
algumas famílias evangélicas. Fomos à Ribeirão Preto e visitamos
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uma igreja Presbiteriana, falamos com o pastor e perguntamos onde
seria um local para iniciar algum trabalho e ele indicou
Sertãozinho. Ele disse que aquela cidade é muito carola, que não
tem obras evangélicas, e então nós decidimos aceitar aquela
cidade.
A impressão que dá olhando, depois de quase 40 anos a esse trabalho
missionário, é que as igrejas ficaram um pouco dispersas. Temos igrejas
em Piçarras depois em Curitiba depois em Palmeiras, depois em São Paulo,
Sertãozinho, Redenção e Recife. É uma igreja pequena e dispersa. A que
se deve isso?
Uma parte pela visão que Howard Hamer e o grupo que fundou o
trabalho no norte do Brasil. Ele não queria trabalhar sob a
supervisão da AEM. Queria ser independente e eles escolheram
aquele campo para atingir os índios. Nunca os atingiram. Quando
foi dado aquele trabalho para a AEM, ou MBM de Elkhart aceitamos
aquele trabalho do norte. Nós estávamos mais ao sul e os menonitas
que vieram da Rússia estavam em Curitiba. Isso explica também a
razão de grupos em Curitiba, São Paulo, Goiás e o MCC no nordeste
de Pernambuco.
Por que Campinas?
Em Campinas estudamos a língua, na escola de línguas, e no início
não foi aberto um trabalho em Campinas, mas simplesmente a
livraria. Em Valinhos foi iniciada a igreja e o David sentiu a
visão de ter uma livraria em Campinas, porque era uma cidade
maior.
Por que houve uma relação muito estreita entre o David, e parece que o
Kenneth também, com os presbiterianos, a ponto de os primeiros livros da
editora fserem livros de presbiterianos que a Igreja Presbiteriana não
quis publicar?
Acho que por causa do contato com o seminário em Campinas. Os
estudantes vinham para a livraria comprar livros e havia contatos
com professores dentro do Seminário. Quando houve o problema
dentro do Seminário Pesbiteriano, a parte liberal e a parte mais
conservadora, os que se sentiram isolados, aceitaram a Editora
Menonita para publicar esses livros. Não sei se o professor Júlio
Andrade Ferreira era da parte mais liberal ou da parte mais
conservadora da igreja Presbiteriana.
Depende da época histórica, porque antes de 1966 era uma coisa, depois
diziam outra coisa e hoje já estão dizendo outra coisa. Há algo mais ser
considerado que é o seguinte: como foi a relação dos menonitas no início
com as outras igrejas históricas do Brasil - metodistas, presbiterianos,
presbiterianos independentes, um pouco dos batistas que já estavam por
aí. Foram bem recebidos ou foram vistos com certa resistência?
Acredito que fomos bem recebidos, tivemos contato quando
visitamos, David e eu, fomos às cidades sondando para começar
trabalhos. Geralmente procuramos as igrejas e os pastores da
metodista, presbiteriana, batista. Naquele tempo eles tinham o
espírito aberto, dizendo: “olha o país é tão grande e o campo de
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evangelismo é tão grande para mais igrejas.” Eles reconheceram a
Igreja Menonita como uma igreja evangélica, uma igreja de teologia
evangélica e não como uma seita, como um grupo fora do eixo.
Quando vocês vieram ao Brasil em 1955, já começava a controvérsia
fundamentalista. Havia também o pentecostalismo através do Evangelho
Quadrangular. Como é que foi essa relação? Houve pressão, houve malentendidos por parte das igrejas em relação aos menonitas ou não?
Nós ficamos com a teologia conservadora, mas nunca ficamos com a
turma do McIntire. Também não nos envolvemos com o
pentecostalismo. Usamos o hinário batista em muitos lugares, em
outros o Hinário Evangélico, e cantamos no culto hinos. Os
corinhos naquele tempo eram mais para as crianças. Haviam hinos
com coral de quatro vozes, um culto mais tradicional. Nessa parte
ficamos mais reconhecidos entre os batistas, presbiterianos e
metodistas, e convidamos esses pastores para Conferências
especiais. Um pastor de Jaboticabal, presbiteriano, veio para
Sertãozinho, a convite meu para uma série de Conferência de 4 a 5
dias. Para mim, o que ele pregava era o evangelismo, a salvação de
Cristo e nós sentimos um entrosamento muito chegado com ele e sua
família.
Olhando para trás, depois de 40 anos e vendo depois dessa viagem que o
senhor fez: se o senhor tivesse que refazer o que o senhor fez, o que é
que o senhor faria diferente daquilo que foi feito?
Acho que daria mais ênfase na preparação de líderes, no sentido de
que líderes poderiam liderar cultos e tornar-se pastores,
treinamento de líderes. Naquele tempo não tivemos Seminário. Só
mais tarde cooperamos com o Seminário em Curitiba dos Irmãos
Menonitas, cooperamos com eles, encorajamos jovens para estudar,
então surgiu depois o Seja Um Obreiro Aprovado, um método de fazer
os estudos e treinamento dentro das igrejas locais. Mas daria mais
atenção para a preparação para pessoas que poderiam nos substituir
e tomar o nosso lugar e delegar mais responsabilidade às pessoas
no seu desenvolvimento de líderes.
Como é que o senhor vê hoje a Igreja Menonita no Brasil: ela é Menonita,
com tradição anabatista, com doutrina anabatista, com identidade
anabatista, ou ela é uma Igreja Menonita que não tem muito destas
características?
Por enquanto é mais uma igreja no estilo evangélico-conservador,
mas as características de pacifismo não estão enraizados ainda.
Esperávamos que os Menonitas de Curitiba iam dar muito apoio,
ajudar-nos nesta parte e eles não conseguiram diante do governo
esse reconhecimento de serviço alternativo. Eles participaram
dentro do exército nesse sentido. Nós sentimos, como missionários,
o receio de falar para os jovens brasileiros de nossas igrejas que
eles deviam tomar essa posição. Nós, como estrangeiros, podíamos
ser acusados pelo governo de promover algo contra o governo
brasileiro. Então achamos que deveria ser uma convicção que eles
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por si mesmos tomariam e não por impulso ou obrigação dos
missionários.
Houve problemas com o Regime Militar brasileiro por parte da Igreja
Menonita ou não? Como ficou a posição anti-militarista da Igreja
Menonita?
Nunca sentimos problemas. Tivemos liberdade. Mas, como
estrangeiros, não fomos obrigados a servir no exército. No entanto
eu só tinha cinco filhas, não tinha filhos que nasceram no Brasil,
com idade de servir o Exército. Mas outros, quando atingiram a
idade de ir para o Exército, foram estudar na América do Norte.
Nossas filhas ficaram.
O senhor acha que a Igreja Menonita no Brasil é pentecostal?
Tem um estilo de culto que se aproxima do pentecostalismo. Mas eu
vejo isto nos presbiterianos também. Tivemos três cultos na 4ª
Igreja Presbiteriana de Caruarú. Prá muita gente parece uma igreja
pentecostal pelo jeito do culto: avivamento, evangelismo na praça,
visitação nas casas. É uma igreja muito ativa e as nossas igrejas
estão reconhecendo que para o crescimento precisamos estar abertos
para essas novas maneiras de culto. Agora, pentecostalismo
extremista não vejo.
Como é que o senhor vê o fato de que a Igreja Menonita no Brasil tenha
aproximadamente 30 pastores, desses 30 talvez 4 tenham educação
teológica formal, e os outros não tiveram uma formação teológica formal.
Por outro lado, talvez com a exceção do Peter nenhum outro é reconhecido
pela igreja como alguém que se dedica ao estudo, que lê e que reflete.
Como é que o senhor vê? Como é que uma igreja pode ter uma liderança tão
despreparada no ponto de vista teológico e de uma formação básica
mínima? O senhor acha que isso se deve ao sacerdócio universal de todos
os crentes que está sendo levado a ferro e fogo ou se deve mesmo a um
despreparo?
Devemos ter mais líderes com preparo, ao invés de quatro. Mas
através de estudos de extensão eu acredito que dificilmente vamos
preparar líderes. O estudo desta forma é muito prolongado e não
tem aquele sentimento de que se está junto com o corpo, com outros
estudantes e professores.
Pelo gosto do senhor, a igreja brasileira ela é nada institucional,
pouco institucional, bastante institucional, ela precisa se estruturar
melhor ou ela não tem uma boa administração? Neste aspecto de um corpo
que tem que responder pela unidade, como denominação, perante as
autoridades, o senhor acha que precisaria mais estrutura, mais
coordenação ou está bem funcionando do jeito que está.
As igrejas da América do Norte são mais congregacionais. Aqui no
Brasil também parece que as igrejas preferem o estilo mais
congregacional, que cada igreja dirija os seus trabalhos. Mas
quando a igreja é pequena, sente a falta de apoio e estrutura
denominacional. Nesse sentido, a igreja tem que ajudar esses
grupos menores. Agora, as igrejas que têm 150 membros ou mais, têm
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a sua vida congregacional, não sente tanta falta que uma igreja de
20, 30 membros sente.
A que o senhor atribui o fato de que nesses 40 anos a Igreja Menonita
não passou talvez 1700 membros. O que faltou nesse projeto?
Obreiros bem preparados para levar a obra à frente, tal como a
Assembléia de Deus faz. Eles tem um pastor e a igreja mãe, a
matriz mas logo estão nascendo outras igrejas na cidade promovidas
pela igreja matriz. Eles sabem como administrar e estimular a
liderança naqueles pontos. Parece que não temos a capacidade ou
essa visão de que numa cidade grande deve ter diversas igrejas
formadas na mesma cidade. A espiritualidade é muito importante
também. Se a igreja vai crescer, será através da espiritualidade
dos líderes que promovem jejuns e vigílias e orações em grupos de
intercessão, para levar a convicção de evangelismo, de
crescimento. Não podemos ficar com esse grupo pequeno, tem que
crescer, tem que atingir novas famílias.
Como é que o senhor vê a relação do missionário estrangeiro com a igreja
nacional? Foi um processo natural ou houve muita tensão? Como é que foi
essa história dentro da igreja Menonita?
No relacionamento entre missionário e pastores nacionais há três
estágios que Luiza e eu passamos: no início os missionários eram
os líderes; no segundo estágio compartilhamos a liderança com
nacionais quase na base de igualdade, ou ainda os missionários
eram ainda maioria; mas no terceiro estágio, quando os
missionários são minoria, então têm que ficar em submissão à
Igreja Nacional e aos líderes nacionais. Participei também desse
terceiro estágio.
E nesse terceiro estágio foi o mais difícil?
Não. Para mim não foi. Eu aceitei a coisa naturalmente. Era uma
coisa necessária. Mudamos para Conceição do Araguaia porque eles
pediram.
Havia coordenação entre os missionários que estavam no Brasil? Haviam
reuniões regulares, conversas para a coordenação entre eles ou cada um
fazia o que bem lhe parecia que devia fazer?
Eu acredito que alguns missionários deviam sentir mais a
orientação de um grupo nacional. Por exemplo, quando trabalhamos
em Jundiaí e depois se pediu que fôssemos para Curitiba, deixamos
Jundiaí. Veio outro missionário e ele ficou à vontade para fazer o
que queria. Ele decidiu mudar a obra para fora da cidade, para
Jundiaí-Mirim. A missão comprou quatro terrenos. Aquela obra não
foi para frente e morreu.
Esta é uma coisa que me estranha: o número de trabalhos menonitas
fechados.
Este é um exemplo de trabalho fechado, porque a pessoa que não se
sentiu responsável diante de alguém. Ele não tinha autoridade de
mudar o trabalho onde estava para outro local. Era uma idéia dele.
Devia haver um grupo para dizer que não, que o trabalho havia sido
iniciado aqui e iria continuar no bairro. Para a abrir aquele
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trabalho, fomos à cidade e pedimos aos pastores e líderes da
cidade onde era um bom local e eles indicaram aquele local. Nós
aceitamos a sugestão deles.
Era isso um espírito mais ecumênico ou só de cooperação? Isso de
consultar os pastores e trabalhar com eles?
Ecumênico porque eu sempre participei dos grupo de ministério,
corpo de pastores. Eu participei em Jundiaí, apoiamos, trabalhamos
juntos, aceitamos as idéias deles, não fizemos evangelismo pegando
membros de outras igrejas, mas evangelizar os perdidos.
Nesse sentido, há uma tipologia que se trabalha no Brasil e que houveram
dois tipos de missão: os missionários pré-milenistas e os missionários
pós-milenistas ou amilenistas. Os pré-milenistas eram evangelizadores da
alma, os amilenistas tinha uma preocupação mais com o trabalho social. A
Igreja Menonita se coloca onde? O pessoal que veio da MBM?
Interessante, porque acho que os missionários são dos dois grupos.
Eu era pré-milenista, do Leste da Pensylvania. A teologia ali, até
hoje, é mais pré-milenista. Mas, nem por isso fiquei só
evangelizando almas. Fiz obra social também. Acho necessário, mas
a minha teologia é mais pré-milenista. Agora eu não sei dentro dos
missionários que vieram. Acredito que alguns também eram prémilenistas.
No geral, há três modelos básicos que se trabalham no Brasil: o
protestantismo de imigração, que a Igreja Menonita tem parte disso;
depois o protestantismo de missão e o protestantismo autóctone, o
nativo. Dentro do protestantismo de missão há basicamente três tipos de
protestantismo: o protestantismo da pregação do evangelho, o
protestantismo da educação do ser humano e o protestantismo da promoção
do ser humano. Ou seja, o primeiro pregou o evangelho, o segundo fundou
escolas, o terceiro fundou hospitais, creches. Em que destes se situa a
Igreja Menonita? Ou seria necessário uma quarta tipologia para os
menonitas, como um protestantismo de serviço, por causa das livrarias,
da editora, dos trabalhos que foram feitos no sentido de fazer alguma
coisa que ninguém estava fazendo?
Nas parte da educação e escolas a Igreja Metodista fez uma grande
obra. Os Batistas têm suas escolas, também formidáveis.
Mas a motivação deles era outra. Os estudos que têm sido feitos mostram
que eles queriam primeiro alcançar as classes mais pudentes, formar uma
geração que poderia governar o país com mentalidade cristã. O Mackienze,
o Instituto Benet e outros foram criados neste afã de educar gente
cristã para governar o país. Por isso foram universidades de ponta de
linha. Os Menonitas se meteram onde não haviam escolas, e não tinham a
pretensão de formar uma consciência cristã, uma sociedade cristã.
Era serviço onde havia pobreza. Era o desejo de ajudar porque
estavam passando por necessidades. Um bairro onde não havia
escolas boas, e lá iam os Menonitas fundar uma, como aconteceu em
Araguacema, Conceição e Colméia. Essas escolas não eram para
formar líderes para dirigir o país, mas para ajudar. Com o tempo,
quem sabe, algum desses alunos vão fazer parte da igreja, vão ser
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salvos em Cristo. Esse era o motivo. Agora, serviço voluntário,
não temos muito. Está começando com alguns jovens do sul querendo
trabalhar no nordeste, no serviço social.
Se o senhor tivesse que definir a Igreja Menonita do Brasil numa só
palavra, que palavra o senhor usaria?
Talvez uma igreja que se sente um pouco acanhada, em vista de
tanto crescimento nas outras igrejas.
Envergonhada?
Não. Acanhada, porque os outros são tão grandes.
Se o senhor tivesse que vir hoje para a Igreja Menonita do Brasil para
ajudar igreja a ser diferente o que é, que é que o senhor faria?
Fundar mais igrejas, mas entrar com outras igrejas para trabalhar
em cooperação, mas não ficando num grupo isolado: Oh! nós somos
únicos, certo?
O senhor acha que a Igreja Menonita no Brasil está isolada?
Um pouco. Algumas estão isoladas. Tem que participar do grupo de
pastores, buscar cooperação, entrar e participar.
APPENDIX 4
INTERVIEW WITH PETER G. SIEMENS, MENNONITE PASTOR
Date: July 29, 1995
Taped, transcribed and edited
A decisão de trazer missionário estrangeiro para o Brasil, foi uma
decisão das Igrejas Menonitas que estavam aqui, que sentiram a
necessidade de alcançar o nacional e não sabiam como, ou foi uma decisão
dos menonitas dos Estados Unidos mandando gente pra cá?
Em primeira instância foi uma decisão das missões da América do
Norte que já tinham mandado missionários para a Argentina, para a
Colômbia. Parece que o Brasil era o próximo país na sua
estratégia.
Logo depois do final da Segunda Guerra Mundial a gente percebe que houve
um despertar missionário nos Estados Unidos, principalmente entre os
anabatistas. A quê você acha que se deve isso?
Eu acho que houve um movimento de avivamento de missões depois da
Segunda Guerra Mundial nos Estados Unidos de uma forma especial na
Igreja Menonita que por um bom tempo era uma igreja muito fechada,
muito centralizada em si mesmo. Com todo esse movimento de
espiritualidade que havia no país, de missões, a Igreja Menonita
teve um grande avivamento de Missões no começo da década de 1950.
Estaria isso relacionado com alguma perspectiva pacifista e nãoviolenta, porque no final da guerra houve uma consciência muito grande
de que isso não poderia ocorrer outra vez. O sentimento anti-bélico era
muito grande por causa da violência cometida contra os judeus. É por aí
a sensação de que era o momento da missão anabatista?
Eu não lembro se existia algum tipo de conexão com a idéia antibélica. Parecia que era um fervor do momento, da época. As igrejas
nos Estados Unidos, e também na Alemanha, estavam sempre cheias.
Havia uma busca das coisas de Deus, talvez pela própria crise que
gerou a guerra. Tudo isso desencadeou uma busca de missões, de
começar novas igrejas e alcançar novos povos.
Vieram inicialmente três casais de missionários. Um deles decide ficar
em Campinas e abrir uma livraria. A que você atribui o fato de que a
Igreja Menonita no Brasil se caracteriza muito mais por ser uma igreja
dos livros, do que uma igreja evangelística.
Pelo que eu falei com esse missionário e o que a gente ouviu, a
livraria era algo que iria junto com o projeto de implantar
igrejas. Não era a prioridade. Talvez pelo fato de que os
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menonitas sempre foram ligados a produzir, a trabalhar, a igreja
menonita não tinha a consciência da necessidade de pastores de
tempo integral. Os pastores estavam sempre envolvidos com mais
algum tipo de trabalho, talvez para dar credibilidade, ou uma
atitude tipicamente menonita quanto ao trabalho. A livraria era um
instrumento que ele poderia mostrar que estava trabalhando.
Conversando com alguns deles, dá a impressão de que eles tinham muita
preocupação em não entrar em atrito com as igrejas já estabelecidas.
Antes de fazer alguma coisa, eles conversavam com pastores que estavam
na cidade. Por exemplo, Sertãozinho foi indicação de outros pastores que
achavam que deviam ir para Sertãozinho. Jundiaí também foi algo assim de
conversar com outros pastores e dizer que em tal lugar estava precisando
de uma igreja. Toda a fundamentação do trabalho parece que era uma
prestação de serviço dentro de um espírito ecumênico com os demais. Você
concorda com essa análise?
Eu vejo que isso foi uma atitude interessante de ouvir as outras
igrejas evangélicas. Parece que havia uma preocupação da Igreja
Menonita de começar igrejas onde não haviam igrejas, onde faltava
testemunho cristão.
Neste contexto, no Brasil, há uma tipologia missionária de implantação
de igreja: a igreja que foi implantada por imigração, a que foi
implantada por missão, e a que foi por trabalho nativo. Essa é a
tipologia básica que se trabalha. Dentro do protestantismo de missão, se
subdivide entre a missão de pregação, a missão de educação e a missão de
promoção humana que é a questão de serviço de saúde, creche e tudo mais.
Estou tendo dificuldades para enquadrar os menonitas nesta tipologia
porque a questão das livrarias, da editora e tudo o mais, não está
dentro desse paradigma. Parece que há uma quarta tipologia, que seria
uma missão de serviço, de ajudar as outras que já estavam estabelecidas
e, se der, depois nós montamos a nossa própria igreja. Como é que você
vê isso?
A gente percebe que as livrarias foram implantadas porque na época
havia uma escassês de livrarias evangélicas no país e como a
América do Norte é um país num contexto onde se escrevem muitos
livros e existe muita divulgação deles, percebendo essa ausência,
eles sentiram que poderiam contribuir para a missão aqui no Brasil
através de livrarias. Mas a idéia de servir a comunidade no seu
contexto, ou a igreja evangélica no Brasil, parece que foi uma
marca dos missionários.
Você acha que isso, de uma certa forma, explica o fato de que 40 anos
depois, a igreja só tenha 1700 membros, ou seja uma atitude não
agressiva em relação à fundação de igrejas e trabalhos evangelísticos?
A gente percebe. Eu vejo que a missão menonita no Brasil, a que
veio com os missionários, estava em grande parte direcionada em
servir, ao mesmo tempo que implantar igrejas. Mas não de uma forma
específica. Parece que alguns missionários tinham um dom de
implantar igrejas, e eles implantaram várias igrejas e outros
tinham uma visão ampla de servir o contexto evangélico no Brasil.
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A gente pode ver isso pelas livrarias, a intenção desde o começo
de fazer contato com batistas, presbiterianos e de trabalhar em
harmonia com outras igrejas evangélicas, nunca tentando prejudicar
outras igrejas, mas sempre em cooperação.
Conversando com um dos presbiterianos que teve contato bastante próximo
com os menonitas a partir de 55, que foi o Rev. Júlio Andrade Ferreira,
perguntei a ele se eles viam os menonitas que estavam chegando como
liberais, como conservadores ou como fundamentalistas. Ele disse que
eram consiedrados como liberais porque mexiam com livros e foi isso que
abriu as portas da comunidade presbiteriana para que eles pudessem ser
recebidos. Por outro lado como é que você vê a Igreja Menonita no
Brasil: ela é conservadora, progressista, fundamentalista? Como é que se
define essa igreja no seu todo?
Eu, basicamente, vejo a igreja Menonita como biblicista. A Igreja
Menonita na América do Norte estava bastante fechada na sua
comunidade. Ela não foi tão atingida por todos os movimentos, tais
como o fundamentalismo, liberalismo e outros movimentos que
surgiram no meio evangélico norte-americano. A Igreja Menonita
ficou como que não atingida na sua integridade por esses
movimentos. Ela assume uma característica, poderia dizer única,
onde a Bíblia é o livro básico e se lê a Bíblia a partir de uma
perspectiva de obediência, de seguir os conceitos bíblicos e não
tanto conceitos de filosofar ou de um pensamento teológico sobre a
Bíblia.
Isso você acha que explica o fato de que a Igreja Menonita no Brasil não
tenha produzido nenhuma pessoa, pelo menos até agora, que seja
reconhecida como teóloga da Igreja Menonita no Brasil?
Eu vejo que a Igreja Menonita, desde o começo, teve uma
característica congregacional, e os missionários tinham idéias
diferentes. Eles não interferiam um no outro. Então, cada igreja
foi se tornando uma igreja com suas próprias características, sem
que houvesse a intenção de se influenciar o grupo todo. Criou-se
desde o início uma diversidade e se procurou estar sempre em
acordo no meio dessa diversidade.
APPENDIX 5
INTERVIEW WITH REV. JULIO ANDRADADE FERREIRA
Date: May 23, 1995
Taped, transcribed and edited
Como foi que o senhor se envolveu com a Editora Cristã Unida e esta
publicou seus livros sendo o senhor um pastor presbiteriano?
Eu escrevi o “Conheça a Sua Bíblia” e arranjei o dinheiro
emprestado e para a primeira edição, mas quem vendeu foi o
livreiro da Independente de São Paulo. Naquela situação foi que o
Kenneth me disse que iria trabalhar com livros.
Então o senhor já tinha feito a primeira edição do Conheça Sua Bíblia?
O contato inicial foi feito com Davi Hochstetler e o Kenneth foi
quem publicou em 1964. Mas eles já estavam aqui há algum tempo.
O senhor já tinha tido contato com eles antes, como é que era isso?
Tinha. Quando Davi montou a livraria na rua Dr. Quirino, entre a
General Osório, eu estava sempre por lá. Quando ele se dispôs a
publicar o “Conheça a Sua Bíblia” eu fiquei muito contente.
Coloquei como condição a publicação subsequente do “Conheça a Sua
Fé”, o que aconteceu em 1967. O Kenneth sempre foi muito atencioso
e nós nos demos muito bem.
A Livraria Cristã Unida em Campinas foi a primeira que foi instalada ou
havia alguma coisa antes disto?
Houve uma do Carlos que, quando eu saí do Seminário em 1935, não
existia mais. Eu estava em Franca quando existia esta livraria,
que era de um presbítero da igreja Central. Havia interesse por
parte dos seminaristas porque ele encomendava livros do exterior.
Era o antigo importador de livros. No meu tempo de seminarista era
um missionário que lecionava no seminário quem trazia os livros
importados para os alunos. Acredito que nem houvesse livraria
evangélica que pudesse ter esse nome até a vinda do pessoal
menonita. E essa livraria em certa medida acabou sendo a livraria
do Seminário, porque me lembro que quando passei pelo Seminário
quase todo mundo ia prá lá para comprar os livros. Eles tinham
igreja em Valinhos também.
Qual foi a reação inicial do pessoal presbiteriano que, aí pelos anos
50, eram o centro de reflexão teológica no Brasil, eram o referencial
teológico na época, como é que esse pessoal presbiteriano encarou a
vinda do pessoal anabatista, da Reforma Radical, de corte mais
arminiano? Houve resistência?
168
169
Pra mim foi uma surpresa. Era uma ignorância histórica minha. Mas
o fato de ser de outra denominação nem era muito, porque havia um
espírito mais ecumênico naquela época. Tenho a impressão de que
perguntei para David Hochstetler se eles eram próximos da
Congregação Crsitã do Brasil.
Havia algum tipo de sentimento entre os pastores nos concílios e em
termos de se preocupar com essa gente nova que estava chegando, coisa
que não sabiam bem de onde vinham?
Não. Quando havia um contato com família crente pentecostal então
surgia algum problema. Não era um movimento. Era um assistente,
porque no contexto havia uma pessoa indo na Igreja Pentecostal,
mais na Assembléia que na Congregação Cristã. Eram chamados de
retonantes.
Eu já ouvi que ali por volta da virada dos sessenta, Campinas podia ser
considerada a capital evangélica do Brasil, ou pelo menos a capital
teológica do Brasil, pelo fato de que havia aqui uma quantidade de
missionários, havia a escola de línguas, havia o Seminário que tinha uma
projeção muito grande na época. Na visão do senhor é mais ou menos isso
que ocorreu aqui na virada dos cinquenta, sessenta e seis? Foi em
sessenta e seis o tombo na IPB?
Parece que tinham a intenção de fechar o Seminário, quase que
fechou ..., mas.... Quanto à cura divina, eu poderia dizer que foi
ali que começou a romper uma certa cooperação entre os metodistas,
luteranos, batistas, ainda fruto de Panamá 1916.
Foi com esse movimento que começa todo o aspecto concorrencial, todo
esse aspecto competitivo das denominações no Brasil?
Eu acho que se o pentecostismo influenciou nisso ou não eu não
sei, mas que coincide mais ou menos na época, eu acho que a reação
maior foi do fundamentalista.
Mas foram eles que produziram basicamente a ruptura ecumênica ou vieram
juntos, como duas ondas separadas?
Eu acho que o pentecotismo veio separado, mas o que agitou muito
aqui essa mentalidade fundamentalista que se mostrou na igreja
independente.
Depois surgiu a IPC, a conservadora?
E depois na nossa surgiu a fundamentalista em Recife em 1966, e
depois os batistas, mas foi no pentecostalismo 70 que achou
também. Agora já tinha falado do McIntire. Ele agitou muito o
Brasil, veio no Brasil mais de uma vez. Agora eu entendo que a
igreja Presbiteriana, por ser uma igreja mais conservada, mais
pensante, o rolo foi muito maior, porque em 50 e 51 começou no
JMC, em Jandira. Em 51, parece que com a nova constituição foi a
ocasião que a igreja se afirmasse um pouco, e o Conselho Mundial e
havia alguns que eram contra o ecumenismo e então a decisão foi a
seguinte: nem um nem outro mas todos equidistantes vamos nos
aplicar em fazer desde o começo a evangelização, e essa foi uma
decisão do Supremo Concílio: ficar distante. Isso em 1951. Porque
a IPB até então tinha participado.
170
Quer dizer que o senhor está falando que a controvérsia fundamentalista
aparece então no início dos anos 50?
Em 46, em Copacabana, apareceu um documento dizendo que o Rev.
Samuel Rizzo tinha representado a IPB em Amsterdan, na própria
fundação do Conselho Mundial, e que Igreja Presbiteriana era
filiada. A questão levantada foi: como a Igreja está filiada ao
movimento ecumênico e nós nem sabemos. Foi quando o Samuel, em
Recife, há muitos anos, foi representar a igreja. Aí nós
resolvemos cancelar, deixar que o assunto viesse a se discutir.
Tomada decisão no Supremo de 1951, que ficou meio distante no
sentido de não participar oficialmente.
Nunca esteve filiado no Conselho Mundial da Igreja?
Agora ficou assim uns anos. Mas o ápice foi em 66. Era a
inquisição para queimar quem quisesse, quem tinha uma carteirinha.
Nos anos de 40 a 50 foi muito influente a tomada de consciência do
que aconteceu lá fora no nível da igreja. Mas, digamos, os
presbíteros que representam a igreja local, em nível nacional,
estavam alheados a tudo. No meio de milhares haviam uns poucos que
tinham consciência. A vinda dos fundamentalistas pendeu demais o
lado fundamentalista porque havia muita gente que lhes pareceu
mais salutar a mensagem de retidão doutrinária típica dos
fundamentalistas.
A escola de línguas que havia em Campinas, era só dos presbiterianos ou
servia também aos batistas?
Servia qualquer denominação.
E aqui foi sede das missões presbiteriana e batista. Também os
missionários tinham por aqui residência e tudo ou não?
Os que iam estudar, passavam o ano estudando.
Agora a escolha de Campinas, como eu diria assim, essa porta de entrada
para os missionários está vinculada na presença dos americanos e
americanas, ou está mais vinculada aqui na presença do Lane. O Lane é
anterior a isso?
O Lane, o Eduardo I veio depois da Guerra Mundial. Era pastor.
E há alguma relação dessa presença aqui em Campinas com alguma coisa
como maçonaria? O Davi Gueiros fala do, pré weberianismo na implantação
do protestantismo no Brasil. O senhor acha que aqui também houve alguma
coisa nesse sentido?
Nesse caso, a colaboração entre maçon e os evangélicos foi algo
que realmente se deu.
A questão maçônica foi a causa menor da ruptura.
Numa perspectiva da disputa de poder, levando a sério a questão a
maçonaria foi a menor razão, menos importante.
O senhor cita três causas, a questão educativa, a questão missionária e
a questão maçônica.
Mas pensando na agitação emocional foi a que mais pesou.
Aquilo tocou o nervo, mas o resto é que trazia a massa da coisa.
171
O problema é o dinheiro. O missionário diz: estou aqui, pego o meu
dinheiro e faço o que quero, em mim ninguém manda. Vem aqui para
pregar o evangelho e não para fazer o que bem entende.
O nome da escola Casa e Escola de Português e Orientação.
Porque dava orientação cultural. Foi instalada em Campinas porque
era um centro que apresentava vários interesses: a facilidade de
acesso, de comunicação, a facilidade de achar professores (eles
contratavam pessoas das igrejas, não tinham participação no
governo e davam aulas boas, a remuneração excelente dos
professores, que muitos não eram formados mas tinham informação).
Eu acho que finalmente foi uma escolha sábia.
O senhor se lembra se o David passou por essa escola ou algum outro
menonita passou por essa escola no começo?
Eu não posso afirmar, mas tudo indica que sim. Eu acho que eles
passaram por esse colégio de orientação e tomaram decisão de
pararem porque viram que era estratégico. O Davi era mais prosa, e
o Kenneth era mais fechado.
Por outro lado tinha a esposa dele que era muito estrovertida.
Cantaram sempre no coral.
Se o senhor tivesse que usar uma palavra para caracterizar os menonitas
nesse tempo que o senhor teve contato com eles, que palavra o senhor
usaria?
Eu não sei definir os menonitas como um todo.
Eu estou falando dos menonitas que o senhor conheceu.
O que eu conheci foram muito amigos, amigáveis. Porque tanto o
Davi Hochstetler como o outro eram muito atenciosos.
Se eles tivessem optado por uma outra área de influência maior, porque
já estavam em Curitiba mas era uma igreja étnica que continua de uma
certa forma sendo, se eles tivessem optado de não se aproximar tanto dos
presbiterianos mas sair meio por fora, o senhor acha que eles teriam
tido maiores resultados ou piores resultados do que aqueles que eles
tiveram. Havia chance de ser alguma coisa no Brasil se não tivesse a
bênção da IPB naquela época?
Não creio que eles dependessem dela, dos presbiterianos para fazer
um bom trabalho mas acho que foi bom prá eles e foi bom prá nós
esse relacionamento.
O senhor se lembra dos outros professores do seminário naquela época,
quais outros tiveram mais relações com os menonitas, por exemplo o
Eudaldo também teve um livro publicado.
Eu acho que ele teve contato lá de Brasília. O Rubens Ribeiro
tinha muita relação com o Kenneth e a Da. Grace, o Silas Denucci
também era muito amigo do casal.
Porque os menonitas no princípio, por trabalharem com livros, davam a
impressão de serem mais liberais dentro de um contexto que começava a se
dicotomizar, porque eram os liberais, os progressistas e os
fundamentalistas. Nessa altur,a e aqui era um centro progressista na
época com Richard Schaul, o senhor, o Rubem Alves que estava por aqui, o
Américo Ribeiro.
172
É uma coisa muito interessante, porque eu não havia pensado nessa
perspectiva.
A minha visão primeira seria a seguinte: nessa época a única tipologia
sociológica que se manejava era a tipologia do Ernest Troelsch, que
coloca os anabatistas como seita. Foi nesta época que começou a aparecer
a LBV do Alziro Zarur, apareceu o Brasil Para Cristo do Manuel de Melo.
Agora, mais esse dado que eu não tinha me despertado para ele, que a
entrada do Evangelho Quadrangular, a Tenda da Cura Divina, com todo esse
movimento dos anos 60. Eu não tinha ligado uma coisa com outra. Então eu
achei que os menonitas estavam naquela disjuntiva histórica, ou nós nos
aproximamos dos presbiterianos e não recebemos a ira ou nós vamos ser
enquadrados como sectários, como todos os outros movimentos que estão aí
e nós perdemos espaço que nós temos.
A história no sentido aqui em Campinas eu acho que vai te
interessar.
Vai me interessar e eu quero isso porque vai me dar uma ajuda muito boa,
isso não foi publicado.
Não fiz porque foi uma reunião no museu da cidade de Campinas aqui
na Campos Sales e estava havendo uma semana ou um mês especial
sobre a história de Campinas e houve quem falasse do ponto de
vista política, católica, industrial, eles fizeram com que eu
fizesse um trabalho sobre o protestantismo em Campinas.
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