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

rpose." The era of the Bible school movement could be called the Golden Age of the Mennonite Brethren Church in North America. The centrality of Scripture as their main focus sparked a spiritual vitality that made the Mennonite Brethren fellowship one of the most exciting missionary movements of modem times. The life of the churches was fertilized by the exposure of Mennonite Brethren young people to Scripture. The liberal arts colleges in the U.S. nurtured a Christian worldview, a training base for leadership, and a communal glue by providing a central focus for the spiritual, social and intellectual development of youth. Nonetheless, Mennonite Brethren educational efforts have not succeeded in providing successive generations with a his- torical and theological frame of reference. Ignored have been the ravages of pluralism and individualism. Today's genera- tion is still groping for spiritual and theological moorings. They do not have a sufficiently clear understanding of the ca- pacity of either the Mennonite Brethren or the larger Anabap- tist tradition to provide compelling answers to modem prob- lems. 187 CHAPTER 15 Identity amid Diversity From their inception, the Mennonite Brethren never de- viated from an unswerving commitment to Scripture. Throughout their history, however, they have been subject to the influence of others who shared this avowed commitment but responded to it in different ways. These influences have left their marks on the Mennonite Brethren struggle for theological identity. Mennonites in Russia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had become a socio- religious culture which no longer expressed the relationship of faith and life unique to their forebears of the sixteenth century. The early defection of the Kleine Gemeinde and the fellowship centers in Ohrloff and Gnadenfeld testified to a broad yearning for the vibrant Christian faith of the Merino Simons and the early Anabaptist variety.1 The cry for a life of discipleship consistent with Scripture dominated the Mennonite Brethren founders and was reflected in their statement of secession and other confes- sional documents.2 This scriptocentric position directed the Mennonite Brethren pilgrimage in Russia and in North America. A state- ment in the Mennonitische Bl&tter oi 1863 suggests the Menno- nite Brethren fellowship's relation to Scripture: "They are better versed in the Holy Scripture, so much so that one is amazed and pleased at the understanding of the Scripture of the lowest and most humble among them."3 Wesley Prieb noted that "the early members of our chu