A History of the Mennonite Brethren Church, Ja Toews

poor). Abraham Unger of Einlage, Chortitza, owned a large wagon factory in which he employed up to sixteen men/ Isaak Matthies was one of the wealthier businessmen of the Molotschna colony before his economic ruin caused by the religious and civil ban. 5 At least four of the early leaders belonged to the teaching profession: Abraham Cornelsen, Daniel Fast. Gerhard Wieler and Johann Wieler. The father of Abraham Friesen, first missionary of the Mennonite Brethren to India, was a wealthy manufacturer/' That the Mennonite Brethren did not chiefly belong to the landless group can be seen from a resolution of the church which stipulated that members should abstain from any involvement on either side of the landless-landowner conflict.' Thus it would appear that although economic conditions may have contributed to the religious restlessness of that period, their primary significance cannot be established. The spiritual ferment in the early Mennonite Brethren movement is closely connected with several questions related to the organization and practice of the church. 1. The Problem of Church Leadership Historians of this period tend to agree that the early Mennonite Brethren Church suffered, especially in the Molotschna, from lack of proper leadership. In the election of ministers on May 30, 1860, two potential candidates for the leadership, Claassen and Cornelsen, were not considered because of their pledge given to Colonial Inspector Andrea a few months earlier. That tragic mistake had serious consequences for the growth and inner stability of the young church. There would be reasons to agree with Friesen who thinks that the whole development of the M. B. church would have been more wholesome if Cornelsen had been elected as leader (or elder) and Claassen and Huebert as his "associate elders."" Cornelsen, the author of the Document of Secession, in whose personality keen discernment, moral FAITH IN FEKMENT 53 courage and a cool, even temper were happily blended, would have been the ideal "elder" to guide the group through its early period of storm and stress. Claassen, with his tremendous drive and energy, and with his experience and knowledge in public affairs, would have provided the needed initiative in blazing new trails. Huebert, the quiet thinker and perhaps only "theologian" of the group, could have conserved his strength for teaching and pastoral ministries in the growing congregation. Because of his ordination as leading minister, and later as elder, Huebert had to bear the brunt of the opposition from without, and also became the chief target of the unruly elements from within. With Cornelsen excluded from active participation, and with Claassen absent from the church for almost two years (because of his mission in Petersburg), the movement lacked strong, positive leadership, and thus became very vulnerable to false teaching and to the influence of immature, self-appointed leaders. Tr