A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

f communication. He had an attractive, winsome personality, but also strong Christian convictions, and people who had contact with him ei- ther loved him or hated him — depending on their attitude toward Christ. 19 From his inaugural sermon at Neuhoffnung (in close proximity to the Molotschna) on September 28, 1845, one senses the spirit of his message and ministry. After presenting "Jesus Christ, the Crucified" as the central theme of his preaching, he calls for personal commitment to the truth: Beloved, it's either-or- This I want to make clear to you in my first sermon. Either believing — or unbelieving, either converted — or unconverted, either a natural man — or a regenerate man. . . . This choice I will present to you. I will not leave believers and unbelievers side by side; but you shall be separated according to Paul's teaching in 2 Corinthians 6: 14 ff. 20 The church was packed on this occasion, and among the many attentive listeners were a number of Mennonites. The scriptural and authoritative preaching of Wuest deeply impressed them, and initiated a fruitful relationship with this servant of God in the years to follow. Pfarrer Wuest exerted a profound influence on the Mennonites in several ways. Already in 1846 he was invited to speak at a missions festival in Gnadenfeld. In subsequent years he often served as guest RENEWAL AND REORIENTATION 31 speaker on such occasions. These missionary meetings were eagerly attended not only by members of the Gnadenfeld Church, but also by concerned individuals from all the churches of the Molotschna. In a more direct way he influenced the Brethren by attending their monthly meetings on Saturday afternoon. Jacob Reimer, a prominent leader in the early M. B. Church and a regular attendant of these gatherings, explains the purpose of these meetings in his memoirs: The purpose was to strengthen one another in our common faith, and to exhort each other to walk and work worthy of our position as members of the body of Christ who have their treasures in heaven and not on earth, and to come to a deeper knowledge of our (moral) corruption and of Christ's infinite love. 21 Jacob Becker, another participant in these fellowship meetings, reports that many people came to hear Wuest out of curiosity, especially at the missions festivals, but "they left with a different impression than when they came" and often asked the question: What must I do to be saved?" Wuest's popularity soon aroused the envy of his fellow-pastors in Lutheran churches as well as among the ministers and elders of the Mennonite churches. As a result, he was barred from preaching in the pulpits of these churches. He continued to attend the devotional meetings of the Brethren, however, where he would not "preach," but responded to questions addressed to him. Wuest's emphasis on the "full and free and present grace of God" was exploited by some members of his own congregation at Neu