PEACE WITHOUT ECCLESIOLOGY? 

The task of Anabaptists in Australia and New Zealand

 

by Nathan Hobby

 

 

Anabaptists have a treasure hidden in the field of their common life.  It is a vision of church which has the stamp of the kingdom of God upon it.  Even though its followers were horribly silenced, neither their work nor their vision is finished.  I believe God has buried in the common life of these peace-loving people a vision to be preserved until the proper time.  And it is their unique vision of church which lies at the core of Anabaptist identity

 

- Walfred Fahrer, Building on the rock: a Biblical vision of being church together from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective, p.16

 

 

 

It’s a historical irony that most of us Anabaptists in Australia and New Zealand have such an intellectual bent, with teritary education and theological literacy.  I suspect our sixteenth century ancestors of faith would be very perplexed.  But God moves in mysterious ways and I’m so glad he’s chosen us for his great work! 

 

Hitherto, the history of Anabaptism in Australia and New Zealand has been a history of unearthing the rich theological resources in the tradition.  We might recall Josiah’s rediscovery of the Book of the Law in 2 Kings 22.  We have talked, learnt and dialogued..  It’s taken scholars - the despised and ignored elite of our society - to rediscover, recover and understand the ideas of Anabaptism. 

 

Now is the time to put them into practice. 

 

This isn’t easy.  But Anabaptism’s not easy, and we’re not cowards.  Our ancestors were burned and drowned for their troubles; our founder was crucified.  We can at least get uncomfortable.

 

At the 2005 AAANZ Conference in Canberra, we discussed a key aspect of Anabaptist thinking - pacifism.  But let us not forget the context our peace witness comes in. 

 

Yoder’s Politics of Jesus is rightly celebrated as one of the most important theological works of the twentieth century.  Yet Yoder wasn’t just concerned with the social ethics of Jesus from an individual believer’s perspective.  Indeed, even this book, not to mention Yoder’s body of work, testifies that once one believes that following Jesus means following his social ethics, one realises that Jesus’ social ethics belong to the church. 

 

Yoder wrote an essay called “Peace without eschatology?” (For the Nations); just as importantly, he would ask rhetorically of AAANZ today: “Peace without ecclesiology?’.  And it is Yoder’s less celebrated book that AAANZ needs to hear in all its prophetic urgency - Body Politics: five practices of the believing church before the watching world.

 

For AAANZ, this book is more important than the Politics of Jesus.  It is here that we are going to be challenged and changed.  Yoder outlines what the church should be doing if it takes its kingdom task seriously.  Exciting, challenging questions come out it, to provoke and inspire:

 

• Is your church practising binding and loosing, exercising our duty and privilege to decide stuff on God’s behalf as the body of believers?   Do you bring decisions to the church, or do you just decide them on your own? 

 

·        Is your church practising the common meal Jesus started where young and old, rich and poor are gathered around as Christ’s body, eating food together?   Surely as an Anabaptist you’re not convinced by the supernatural/ symbolic sidetrack offered by Catholicism and Protestantism?

 

• Does your church practice the priesthood of all believers?  ‘Abolish the laity’, Alan Kreider argues!

 

• Does your church allow everyone to bring something to worship, and to speak out in prophecy as the Spirit leads?   When was the last time you interrupted a sermon with a question? 

 

If the answer to these questions is no, are you encouraging your church to start these things? 

 

If not again, why don’t you leave and start an Anabaptist styled house church?  You only need two or three.  Jesus said so.  Because the thing is, if we don’t have Anabaptist churches, we don’t have much to witness to.  Where is this new way of life we talk about it if isn’t evident in our churches?  What does the person who’s read Politics of Jesus or done an Alternative to Violence program do next, besides be suffocated by the contrary voices in our normal churches?

 

If we can’t drive an hour to meet at least weekly with fellow Anabaptists, what is our name worth?  The people whose name we claim - or, now, even wish to camoflauge - risked death to meet together in forests and caves. 

 

Those of us in full time jobs needs to think about going part time so we can be full on disciples.  Or else maybe we can give half our pay to a brother or sister so they can work for the cause. 

 

It is an indictment on Australia and New Zealand and on us that up until now, we have only been able to provide about $5000 a year for the work of Mark and Mary!  Let us wake from our slumber.  If the claims of Anabaptism are true, we should be full on for it.

 

Yes, these are hard sayings.  Yes, they will divide people.  Yes, they mean business will not go on as usual.  But don’t blame me.  Blame Jesus.  Blame Menno Simons.  My scandalous, foolish opinion is this: to grow, to flourish and to be faithful to its own tradition, AAANZ needs to get church focused!

 

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