A lot more is required
by Duane Beachey, MCC Great Lakes, Appalachia Office/SWAP, Whitesburg, Ky.
I appreciated Matt Friesen’s article about an evangelical peace and justice church (Nov. 18, 2008). This emphasis can cut across liberal and conservative lines within the church. But for this to succeed, a lot more is required than Friesen suggests.
If we simply recognize that many from other faith traditions may be attracted to our peace and justice emphasis and target them, or if we simply put more Mennonite Church USA resources into building up our current peace and justice structures, that may bring in more people. But it will do little to bridge the gap between left-leaning peace activists and the evangelicals in the church.
We need renewed teaching and preaching coming from Mennonite churches on the centrality of peace and justice to the call to follow Christ. Peace and justice are inseparable from the kingdom of God and are central to the meaning of salvation.
When Jesus talks about who is saved and who isn’t, he describes a judgment based solely on how we have responded to human need—“I was hungry and you fed me.” When Jesus calls us to be peacemakers and love our enemies, he ties it to what it means to be children of God—a God who treats enemies and friends alike and who loves enemies even unto death. If we are to be followers of Christ, we can do no less. We can only tell a dying, violent world about God’s love if we live lives that demonstrate God’s way of loving. That was the point of Jesus’ call to be like him and like God.
The message that God loves us and calls us to love is the heart of the gospel and our evangelism. It is the basis of our salvation. Until we understand that, peace and justice will always be a sidebar or add-on to the gospel.
Associated Issue: Young adults committed to the church - Nov. 28, 2008
Associated Article: An evangelical peace and justice church
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