A Pilgrimage Of Faith, J.B. Toews, 1993

uld not afford even one liberal arts program, let alone two. Per- sisting with two schools would mean they would be forced to become regional or interdenominational schools with Menno- nite Brethren identification prevailing for some time into the future.38 The summary of this report expressed a warning as to the possible consequences: "Historically the denomination (the United States MB Conference) has reached another plateau, where leadership is being exerted from churchmen and educators. The plateau is deceptively comfortable. Where are the prophets of the Brethren? Could not the Board of Education sound a call for a prophet?"39 The report urged the Mennonite Brethren Conference to address the issue of the purpose of a college for the nurture of the denomination's distinct faith and character. The prophetic word of the Christian Service Fellowship-that the colleges could not continue to be unique institutions express- 179 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH ing a particular Anabaptist ethic-was soon proven true. This failure, however, does not negate the dedication of those who sacrificed for a noble cause. The regret is that the colleges did not provide a theological frame of reference for their young people because of the provincialism in which the no- ble cause was attempted. Both Tabor and Pacific, as "defender of the faith" institu- tions, were initially described as distinct from the culture around them and in tension with that culture. In their strug- gle for survival* both have become much like the hundreds of other generic Christian colleges which attract students by their dual emphasis on academic excellence and spiritual vitality. Like most Christian colleges, both are valuable, however they are not inclined to build the distinct theological identity essen- tial for the growth of a church community with a New Testa- ment/Anabaptist orientation. THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION Preceding the changes that followed the Second World War the Mennonite Brethren lived by an intuitive theology emerging from an experiential emphasis rooted in a strong biblicism. The nurture of faith was provided from within the life of the church. Strong authoritative leadership provided the interpretive boundaries of faith and practice. An implicit faith can be sufficient for a church movement as long as it ex- ists in the context of a homogeneous culture with a pre- scribed lifestyle that expresses the movement's understanding of faith and practice, Robert Friedmann's observation that im- plicit existential Christianity cannot be pressed into a theologi- cal system applies to the Mennoni