In 1927, the Schleitheim, Dordrecht and numerous other Anabaptist statements of faith were superseded by the Christian Fundamentals confession adopted by the Mennonite General Assembly in Garden City, Missouri. This statement was then updated a generation later with the adoption of the 1963 Mennonite Confession of Faith, which was in turn replaced 32 years later with our most recent Confession.
Should it come as a surprise that a generation later (28 years), some members of an ever evolving church may question whether another revision is called for?
Or did we finally get everything exactly right in 1995?
To be clear, I deeply appreciate the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, and largely endorse it without reservation. But to be honest many of our congregations haven't had a foot washing service in decades (a practice affirmed in that 1995 statement), many no longer promote women wearing veilings (1963 statement), and few practice the repeated scriptural mandate to greet one another with a holy kiss (1921 confession). And some pastors, after considerable soul searching, have officiated at weddings in which one or both have had a divorced partner who was still living.
Regarding the latter issue, I agree that a definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman for life may be far more fundamental than many of the issues some members may judge as peripheral today. Yet in their time, and in my own memory, they were seen as anything but "disputable matters." Some were as hotly debated then as the issue of whether a faithful, covenanted same sex relationship should be blessed is today. And the underlying concern raised has always whether we are in danger of no longer considering scripture as authoritative.
Many of us will continue to encourage celibacy for our differently oriented sisters and brothers, and perhaps even promote celibacy as a viable Christian option for believers in general (see I Corinthians 6), even though most of us would be unwilling to consider that option for ourselves. But I regret that in all of the conversations we've had on this issue in the past, I don't recall a single example of leaders in our Virginia Mennonite conference leaders ever inviting their own gay or lesbian sons and daughters, sisters and brothers to be a part of the discernment process. This in spite of the fact that many such believers have been hidden in plain sight in our midst for decades, with most simply leaving our communities, turning their backs on the church or finding welcoming congregations elsewhere.
So in light of the differences that divide us today what if we were to prayerfully consider producing an updated "2025 Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective" together in which all members would be invited to the table? In the meantime we could and should affirm anew the "fundamentals" outlined by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, teachings he himself stated were foundational for all who "hear these sayings of mine and practice them."
The first century church in fact did create something like that in their Didache, a second generation document they referred to as "The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles." It was used for the instruction of new believers and was largely based on Jesus's inaugural sermon, the "all things I have commanded you" reiterated in the Great Commission given by Jesus on that same Mount of the Beatitudes.
I know creating another confessional statement would be a hard and potentially long process, but in the spirit of Jesus's prayer in John 17, we need to be committed to staying together while we take on this kind of ongoing task prayerfully and carefully, and for as long as it takes, knowing that future generations of faithful believers will surely amend whatever we come up with, as they certainly should.
We have successfully done something very similar with the periodic adoption of new hymnals, which it could be argued have far greater impacts on the faith and theology of our people than do our confessions. Mennonite congregations were blessed by the first edition of the Church Hymnal published in 1927, followed by the 1969 Mennonite Hymnal, then the 1992 Hymnal, a Worship Book, and finally the latest, the new Voices Together. In each case, newer hymnals tend to first be viewed with suspicion by some but mostly embraced over time, and the process of creating them has been life-giving.
We might ask, which is a sign of greater spiritual life and health, a church that forever preserves and elevates one particular statement of faith for all time, or one in which members are constantly searching the scriptures for ways of becoming ever more faithful to the way of Jesus?
May all of God's people who are committed to the confession "Jesus is Lord" work together as one, for as long as it takes, meanwhile practicing the kind of congregational discipling of individual members in the manner taught by Jesus in Matthew 18:15-20--but without separating ourselves from whole communities of believers we believe to be in error.
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