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

smal. Scripture places considerable emphasis on "perfection." Much of Christ's ministry was instruction related to social, eth- ical and moral matters. Major parts of Paul's writings address the doctrinal and social implications of divine revelation. But 243 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH Scripture does not separate the perfection of God's people from their basic mission. Israel was called to serve as a com- municating agency of God's revelation (1 Chron. 16:23-31). In the New Testament the emphasis on perfection is not an end in itself, but a requirement for effective outreach (John 3:34-35; John 17:21; Acts 5:11), The glory of Christ is made known by a sanctified church that shows "forth the virtues of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9)- The church, as the embodiment of the Holy Spirit, must be concerned about perfection. However, this is not an end in itself, but rather a means to maintain the spiritual fitness to reflect Christ and bring others to the knowl- edge of salvation. Perfection without communication results in spiritual sterility. As with Judaism during the time of Christ, separating the pursuit of perfection from the dynamic outward move- ment of the gospel mission produces only self-satisfied legal- ism. Perfection cannot be accomplished in the pursuit of moral standards alone, but is a natural result of die spiritual struggle for the lives and eternal destiny of others (Acts 11:26; 13:3-4; 11:2930). When Churches Don't Grow The dynamic faith and life of the apostolic church pro- duced enormous growth, "And the Lord added to their num- ber daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47). Through- out the ages such continued growth through evangelistic out- reach has served as basic evidence that the church was func- tioning as a healthy spiritual organism. When this ongoing demonstration of the power of the gospel is absent, some- thing vital is lost. Individual members grow lax, the corporate body loses its sense of purpose. It lapses into maintenance and is governed by the status quo* A pitfall for many churches (particularly those with an identifiable cultural tradition, like the Mennonite Brethren) is 244 MENNONTTE BRETHREN EVANGELISM to become a secular subculture in which spirituality is sub- merged by social and cultural values. As Tom Allan has not- ed, many unbelievers reject the church because they see it as merely another secular culture, albeit with values different from their own, So when the church appears ineffective in penetrating the secularism of society it may be beca