Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. -2 Corinthians 3:2-3
I was enjoying a Sunday afternoon meal at a mission when I was asked, “Barry, what do you do here in Haiti?”
I replied, “Well, the first two years I went from church to church preaching and teaching. We travelled all over Haiti and preached in more than 100 churches. Now, for the past year, we have started a church that I am pastoring. Also, we have picked out some other churches that we are assisting. We are preaching for them, holding Bible studies, or anything else the local pastor needs help with.”
Then came the famous question, “You’re not trying to make Mennonites out of them, are you?”
I hear this statement from many Anabaptist missions here in Haiti. The first time I heard it, I was confused. Why would Mennonites be on the mission field, but say they’re not trying to make Mennonites out of their disciples? So, I asked, “What do you mean by that?”
The response disappointed me. “You don’t think people need to live like we do to get to heaven, do you?” I replied, “Well, I am not a Mennonite. However, we do the things we do because we believe the Bible tells us to, not just because we are Mennonites or any other group. So, in answer to your question, yes, I do believe people need to live the same way that we do to get to heaven.”
This response started quite a discussion. I asked this person what things they did that they didn’t believe others needed to do. “Well, I don’t believe all people need to cover their heads with a veil; a hat would be fine, but Mennonite women are not permitted to wear hats,” was one example they used.
I told them that I look at things from the perspective of a church leader, and that we need to look past the now and look to the future. I said there’s a reason for everything we do. For instance, on the covering issue, we believe a woman should cover her head ALL the time because the Bible says three times we should pray always. However, if someone wears a hat it’s difficult to wear it all day long and most women who wear hats as coverings do not wear them all the time. Finally, if you look at church history, women often switch to wearing hats as a last step before they completely stop covering their heads.
Another example they used was the modest cape dress. They said a skirt and blouse is fine. Well, I agree that one can be modest with a skirt and blouse, but remember, we can’t just look at the ‘now’. Looking at church history, and the backslidden church you can see what that leads to. For example, in times past, Haitian women wore long, modest dresses, but after American influence they began to wear skirts and blouses. Today if you visit Haiti you will notice most women don’t wear pants, but they wear skirts, miniskirts in fact. They also wear very tight blouses, so tight that others can see the form and shape of their body. Did you know that today most Haitian Christians won’t wear shorts or tee shirts? America is now starting to change that, too.
Although I agree that women today are also altering the cape dress to be form fitting, is it wrong to put in some practical applications to try to slow down this moving towards the world? I know people say the problem is the heart, and I agree, but we need to protect our young people and be an example on the mission field. Can we not see that the moving away from the Biblical ordinances and church structure of our forefathers is leading to apostasy? Are we too spiritual for practical applications?
So why don’t we want people to live like us? If we feel we are doing what we are doing because the Bible tells us to, then doesn’t everyone need to do it? The Bible says that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation?
I have noticed that the churches here in Haiti which are connected to an Anabaptist mission have two types of people in them – 1) the Americans and 2) the local Haitians. They do most things differently. They dress differently, they worship differently, and they talk differently. Then unfortunately, it’s usually the Americans who start changing, not the Haitians.
I was talking with a young Haitian man who was a member of a Mennonite church. He was living with his girlfriend and their two children. He had fashionable clothes, a gold watch and big sunglasses. I hadn’t talked with him for long before he confronted me with the question. “You’re not trying to get me to be like you American Mennonites, are you?” “No,” I said, “I’m trying to get you to be like Jesus!”
I know there’s a lot more to Christianity than the way we look, but many churches are saying it’s only about the heart. Well, they are partly right, but a perfect heart will be observed as right from the outside also. Jesus says we will know a tree by its fruit. We do not need to cut down a tree and look inside to see what kind of fruit it produces. The fruit will be on the outside clearly evident for all to see. This is true for both trees and people.
People are acting like modesty isn’t important and they are only doing the bare minimum they think they need to in order to still be okay with God. I feel that too many Anabaptists today are only doing what they are doing because they are required to. This leads to tight dresses, small head coverings, and rebellious attitudes. They say, “Surely not everyone needs to do it this way.” If we don’t do what we do because we believe in it, then obviously we’re not going to tell someone else to do it.
I have read the Martyr’s Mirror, as well as many other early Anabaptist writings. Those men and women gladly died for things we don’t seem to care about anymore. How can we so casually and so callously, let go of Biblical doctrines and practical applications that so many people before us have died to keep!?
The natives in our church here in Haiti want to do things the way we do. The women are constantly asking my wife to sew dresses for them, just like hers. They tell me that they want to live like us because we obey the Bible, and that’s what they want to do also. They respect us.
I believe there’s a reason why so many Anabaptist missions have failed, and why today most Anabaptist missions don’t have a church for the natives to go to. I believe it’s because we don’t believe in that which we are doing. We are ashamed of the way we look and of the way we worship. And that is why we are changing …more like the Protestant church …more like the world. God help us when we send missionaries into the field that are secular-minded, saying “There are many ways to heaven; I’ll do it my way, you do it your way.”
The Bible says the world is waxing worse and worse each day, yet the church of Jesus Christ is on the rock which cannot move. So, in theory, the separation, or difference, between the church and the world should continue to get bigger and bigger as they move farther and farther apart. However, what I see happening is the church is also interested in fashion and keeping up with modern-day living, so it stays right behind the world. The women want to be pretty and the men want to be stylish. Thus, both the church and the world seem to be moving in the same direction.
This is a big problem in America, but it’s a bigger problem on the mission field. Many countries like Haiti were not worried about the things of the world. They were mostly focused on survival, while some were focused on the Bible. Then came the missionaries promoting a whole new look, while also promoting Jesus. When I go to the airport it burdens me to see what is coming into Haiti from America – tattoos, nose rings, dyed hair, and you name it.
I remember one day I went to the airport to pick up a brother who I had never met before. As I waited for him I began to wonder how I was going to tell which one he was. Then I thought of a little test I could use. There were many “American missionaries” coming out of the airport. The man I was to pick up was an Anabaptist. Would I be able to tell which one he was by the way he looked? Would he look different than the others? Should I be able to tell? I remember many Americans walking by, but I ruled them all out. As the crowd thinned I began to wonder if I had missed him, but no, there came a man that was definitely him. No fashion could be seen; no jewelry, stylish sunglasses or gold watch. A humble looking man… a poor looking man with a beard. I praised the Lord! I believe that with the way the mainstream American church and the world dresses, true followers of Jesus Christ should clearly stand out.
For the past two years I have been working very closely with an older Haitian man. When he’s not with me, he is working for a Protestant mission. At first it didn’t go well, since he did everything like them. After hearing me preach for several months, he began asking questions. “Why do you do this, this way? Why do you do that, that way?” I never thought of saying, “It’s how our church does it.” Rather I took him to the Bible and showed him that this is how God wants us to do it. It didn’t take long for this man to begin to live like me. He changed the way he dressed …the way he thought …in fact, he changed almost everything.
Recently he shared the whole story with me. He said he used to think and live like I did, years ago, but then the Americans came and began to say he didn’t need to do things that way. He could be “free in Christ”. They told him that Jesus loves him just the way he is, so why would you need to change? They convinced him to wear worldly clothing, buy a television, and have a rebellious attitude. “But,” he said, “then I met you, Pastor Barry. At first, I thought you were in the same bondage I used to be in. But I soon realized who was in bondage – it was me. I saw how you really believe everything the Bible says. I saw the confidence you have in Jesus. Your godly example changed my life.”
Brothers and sisters, dear friends, don’t be ashamed of where you come from. The world is waxing worse and worse each day. We need men and women who are confident in what they have, people who know they have the answer to all the world’s problems and struggles – Jesus Christ. People who can boldly say, “We do it this way because the Bible says so.” People who can say as the apostle Paul said, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. -1 Corinthians 11:1
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