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

absence of creedal systems among most Mennonite Brethren Bible school teachers gave them flexibility and an openness to see truth in new relationships. The earlier 1902 Confession of Faith illu- mined this receptivity: Every Confession of Faith, as every other teaching and ex- position of Scripture is subject at all times to examination and estimation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, ac- cording to the Holy Scriptures . . . the only infallible writ- ten preserved resource of the necessary and sufficient rev- elation of God to humanity for our salvation.17 While feeding at these outside sources, Mennonite Brethren schools (including institutes, colleges and even the seminary in its earlier years) made little or no effort to provide in their curriculum any systematic study of the historical and theological distinctives of the Mennonite Brethren. As late as 1971 a president of the Mennonite Brethren Bible College challenged the Canadian Conference to help establish a trans- denominational theological graduate school with other evan- gelicals in Canada in preference to a Mennonite Brethren seminary.18 Commitment to the historic Anabaptist faith has been peripheral in many areas of the conference. The mis- sion to proclaim a message to a needy world was dominated by an emphasis on obtaining numerical results, while other parts of the biblical emphasis suffered. OBSERVATIONS AND IMPUCATIONS The transition from a church in a rigid cultural mold to a community influenced by broad theological and sociological 195 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH exposure has enriched the Mennonite Brethren spiritually and culturally. In the larger Mennonite community and in the broader evangelical feEowship we have gained recognition as a believers community firm in biblical orientation and conser- vative in theological commitment. Within our own fellow- ship, however, there lingers uncertainty as to our specific the- ologieal identity in relation to these broader streams. The rapid cultural change from a rural agricultural people to an educational and professional people has left us ill- equipped to answer a new set of questions; Who are we? What makes us different from the mainstream of North Ameri- can evangelicalism? Are we justified in claiming a faith and mission different from those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ? Has our purpose as a "peculiar" people of God been fulfilled? The questions strike at the essence of our faith and life. Has our lack of a clear New Testament (Anabaptist) ecclesiolo- gy clouded our self-understanding? Have Pietism and conserv- ati