I’ve seen some discussions online about the ideas of Anabaptism as expressed through what is called “the Mennonite church” (small-c on “church”). Is it all that different as a Protestant group that calls itself “Christian” from the other Protestant groups? (There are many such groups that are considered “Protestant” even though they can have significant differences from each other, but that’s not the topic of this essay.)
I am associated now with an Anabaptist-based Protestant group that calls itself the Mennonite Church (big-c on “church”) as a labeled denomination, but this church falls under the umbrella of the ideas of the broad Mennonite church and Anabaptism in general.
How does this idea differ from other such groups? What is Anabaptism itself, and why the Mennonite church as a distinction?
Not all Mennonite churches are the same as a group. They are culturally modified as are all such groups, whether religious or social or whatever. But some of the elements of Anabaptism as found through the Mennonite churches is the desire to do what is right and good in this world through the agency of the people who bear the name of Jesus in their beliefs and hold the responsibility to do the works of Jesus in his name, directly leading to action to bring healing, food, restoration of dignity, and hope, while also maintaining a firm resistance to oppression and a direction to the empowerment of those who are on the sidelines to make sure that “they” are also “us.”
As to how the Anabaptist churches see Jesus compared to how many other (not all!) Protestant groups see Jesus is that we think it’s important to see Jesus here and now working through the church to bring in the Kin-dom of the Beloved Community. (These is my coinage using two different ideas.)
Jesus is not someone that we must wait for, hoping for his swift return, spending time in thinking and saying and believing and wanting while the world around us becomes an even deeper and hotter hell to those groaning under the oppression of systems.
Instead, the Anabaptist churches see Jesus is that he is present with us, and that we join together with others, within the church and also those without the church, to do good for the world, to follow the way of tikkun olam, healing the wounds of this world.
I have more direct experience now of the Mennonite church and how we see this and do this, and my particular set of churches which call themselves “the Mennonite Church” are active in what might seen as “social justice work,” which is our way of seeing Jesus as an instiller of goodness and hope in people to come follow him to heal the many broken places in this world so that people have dignity and agency, and are seen by those who have wanted a world full of invisible suffering that does not need any attention.
One of the ways that the Mennonite communities differ in how they see Jesus is that they see Jesus expressed in community and among people who are bearers of the Imago Dei, and as such, carrying the divine favor of dignity and worth. And along with that community is the connection we have with one another, so much so that we care for others because we are humans, bearing the image of the God who creates and heals and saves and does, and who have the human impulse to assist those who need a hand up because surely one day we also will need that hand to assist us.
The Mennonite church in general is doing what Jesus told us to do because we are, it is hoped, changing to become people who are, individually and corporately, doing what is needed to bring wholeness.
We are not “waiting for Jesus to bring justice when he returns.”
We are doing what Jesus told us to do as part of the creation of wholeness in our lives.
And as such, “waiting for Jesus” is silly by these lights.
We don’t wait for someone who said he’s already here and always here.
That’s my particular take on what I see as a probable Mennonite, uncertain if there is a means of catechesis to bring formal recognition, but seeing the good being done and wanting to align with it, whether that makes me within the church or without the church.
The Mennonite church is a way to do this work of Jesus.
I do want to point out that the “True Church” is not limited in scope to the Mennonite Church, the Anabaptist churches, or churches in general who follow a certain way of doing Jesus.
There are many churches who are trying to follow Jesus in his mission to bring healing to the world.
If you are in such a church, GREAT!
If you are in a church that isn’t focused on that but you don’t know if it’s what you want, it’s a good idea to think about what’s calling you and where your passions are so that you can follow them.
If you are not a church-going person but you are participating in the great work of tikkun olam – then GREAT! You’re just doing what we innately understand as part of the purpose of our lives, and religion isn’t the distinction used to identify that understanding.
It is not the “church” that brings healing. The “church” is just a label, and it’s more than just adhering to certain beliefs that are impossible to observe.
The healing is, and has always been, the people doing the work to bring healing.
One small note: I’m not an expert in Anabaptist cultures or theology. I’m still learning. But I’m sharing what I’m finding to be the most of value to me.
