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

the Alliance movement in 123 A PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH Western Europe, The Blankenburg Conference, of which F.W. Baedekker was the major architect, had been established in 1885 and became the center for the European movement of the Plymouth Brethren. The Plymouth Brethren professed to have no creeds, for fear of honoring human opinions too highly (yet the writings of Darby and other leaders were themselves dogmatic). They placed strong emphasis on the inner spiritual life, sanctifica- tion, fellowship and prophecy. Baedekker typified the majori- ty of the speakers at these conferences. He was not a theolo- gian, nor did he see much value in serious theological in- quiry. He was a charismatic personality and a gifted pastor, He gave unreservedly and spent much of his time in serving the prison population throughout Russia, even into the most remote Siberian labor camps. For Baedekker, the truth that "God loves you" took the place of any effort at theological di- alogue. Other teachers at the Blankenburg conferences who worked closely with Baedekker were General von Viebahn, Otto Stockmayer, Frederick B. Meyer, Ernst Gebhardt and Ernst F. Stroeter Erich Beyreuther observed that the teaching at Blankenburg was one-sided and not always in accordance with healthy or generally recognized hermeneutical principles,18 Baedeker served frequently at the prolonged Bible confer- ences sponsored by wealthy land owners in the Molotschna at Steinbach, Apanlee and Vorwerk Juschanlee- Pietists consid- ered him to be an authority in the exposition of Scripture. Among Mennonite Brethren, Stroeter was probably the sec- ond most influential person from the Blankenburg circle. He held repeated Bible studies of one or two weeks for teachers and ministers. But his influence did not last long because he became a universalist. Mennonite Brethren ministers used the writings of other Blankenburg people such as Viebahn, Meyer and Stockmayer 124 MENNQNTIT BRETHREN AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY widely. According to the late Henry Cornelsen, Coaldale, Al- berta, these publications were a primary resource for ministers of the tradition.19 Jacob Kroeker's position as a member of the Blankenburg board of directors permitted leaders of Mennonite Brethren fellowships to attend the Blankenburg conferences on a regu- lar basis. Jacob W. Reimer, highly recognized as a Bible teacher in Mennonite Brethren circles, was a frequent atten- ded This close contact with the Pietistic movements in England and the continent were not without far-reaching effects upon the Mennonite Brethren. Most visibly