A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

implies obedience to all Christ's commandments and especially His last command to evangelize the whole world. Chapter 22 Cooperating with Other Groups: Inter-Church Relations In response to the accusation of the Mennonite elders that the early Brethren thought of themselves as the "only true Christians," the latter replied: "We do not consider ourselves the only true Christians, and are ready to concede at any time, that there can be other true Christians, known only to the Lord." 1 The last phrase appears somewhat enigmatic, since the Brethren had just found such "true Christians" in elder Johann Harder and other members of the Ohrloff Mennonite Church. Through the years Mennonite Brethren have moved away from their original exclusiveness and narrowness and have discovered a host of true Christians in the larger Mennonite brotherhood, as well as among other evangelical bodies. Occasionally the Mennonite Brethren have initiated a wider fellowship and cooperation; at other times they have simply responded to invitations extended to them. The sharing of a common faith and task with others who also "call upon the name of the Lord" has been an enriching and stimulating experience for Mennonite Brethren congregations. As noted earlier, the German Baptists were among the first other "Christians" with whom the Mennonite Brethren in Russia established cordial relations. Somewhat later, in the 1880's, some Mennonite Brethren entered into a working fellowship with the young Russian Baptist movement. (See chapter seven.) Still later, in the 1890's, the M.B. Church began to cooperate with the Baptist Missionary Union of Boston in launching its first missions endeavor in India. This coopera- tion with the Baptists did not involve any compromise of faith or practice on the part of the M.B. Church. It took a little longer for the Brethren to enter into fraternal relations with the "true Christians" in the Mennonite churches. As a 380 COOPERATING WITH OTHER GROUPS 381 result of socioeconomic conditions described in Part One, Mennonite Brethren cooperated with the "churchly" Mennonites in public education, general welfare, and alternative service. Associations on a different level were the inter-Mennonite Bible conferences initiated by Elder Schellenberg in the Rueckenau M.B. Church in 1875. At these periodic gatherings, a brotherly dialogue generated a better understanding between the new and the old churches and created an atmosphere of mutual love and respect. In the decade prior to the Communist Revolution the remaining barriers between the M.B. Church and the Mennonite Church largely disappeared. In 1910 the Mennonite Brethren were invited for the first time to participate as voting delegates to the General Conference (Allgemeine Konferenz) of the "churchly" Mennonites. 2 Two years later, when a "Commission for Church Affairs" (KfK) was created, Heinrich Braun was elected to represe