Going Deeper
To assist your congregation in Going Deeper!
Before you is Going Deeper: Guidance on Six Key Themes in Anabaptism. These Lectionary/Preaching Aids are given to strengthen our churches in discipleship and understanding and offered to assist those who guide congregations within our EM Conference.
From 2004 to 2008 our national Evangelical Anabaptist Committee sought to strengthen our commitment to the EMC Statement of Faith. It researched where our conference was at and produced materials. In 2008 it forwarded its final report to the Board of Church Ministries and the Board of Leadership and Outreach. One recommendation within it was to produce materials such as these.
The six themes chosen are discipleship, believer’s baptism, community, hermeneutics, church and state, and peace.
What do we seek to put before you? A bit of:
a Lectionary, selected Scripture readings for public worship service use
a Preaching Aid, a guide toward interpreting the Lessons of the Church Year
a Service Order, elements used to guide Christians in a service of worship
These lessons contain some or all of these elements. The authors were to provide Scripture readings (Old Testament, Gospel, and wider New Testament) with a brief exposition and guidance on the theme. Some provided hymns, choruses, prayers, and blessings. Later, we asked Jennifer Kornelsen to provide such items for three lessons besides her own.
While the EMC does not have an official church year, our congregations are influenced by Christian and secular times on the calendar. By providing this material, we hope pastor-teachers (Ephesians 4:11) will plan to provide yearly teaching on these themes.
Our EM Conference is a voluntary association; our interpretation of Scripture is safeguarded by being connected with each other. Aware of both of these realities, we hope and desire that our churches will highlight what are, in some circles, neglected emphases of Scripture within our common church life.
No attempt has been made to force these materials into an artificial uniformity. The lesson results vary. In matters of format and style, insights have been gained through this process that will assist the BCM in the future production of similar materials.
We are grateful to William McCaskell, Dr. Harvey Plett, Jennifer Kornelsen, Stephanie Unger, Henry Friesen, Eric Jordan Doerksen, Layton Friesen, and Dr. Arden Thiessen for providing lesson materials. Special thanks go to Jennifer Kornelson for providing additional worship materials upon our request.
As well, we have included A Working Definition of Evangelical Anabaptism prepared by then EAC member Pastor Ed Peters and consultant Dr. Terry Hiebert as an internal working document of the EAC.
Henry Friesen, former EAC and current BCM member, had the idea for this project. He provided coordination and oversight, enlisting writers. Executive secretary Terry Smith assisted in oversight, through editing, and by writing this introduction. Administrative assistant Rebecca Roman offered counsel, designed the layout, copied the pages, and collated the books. Gerald Reimer, conference youth minister, offered counsel.
We trust that these labours will be useful to you. May Christ bless and guide you in your preaching/teaching ministry!
Board of Church Ministries
Evangelical Mennonite Conference
Fall 2010
