The Crisis Years of 1915-1930 / 189

1909) it seemed inevitable that tensions should arise between the younger or the more educated, on the one hand, and the older and the more traditional members on the other hand.

Impact of World War I

It was in the aftermath of World War I, however, that the church as a whole became involved in controversy over the control of church institutions, the question of discipline and church authority, the problem of what constitutes "soundness of faith," and how the Mennonite Church in particular should relate to the "world." For some decades there were those in the church who were impatient with the slow growth of the mission spirit, the lack of enough vital church literature, and the paucity of educated leaders. It was especially believed by many that a stronger educational program could do much to remedy the situation in a church that, for historical reasons, had lacked educated leaders and institutions of learning. As always, there were those favoring "progress" while others were "cautious."

The progressive movement in the Mennonite Church received considerable impetus from the experience of its young men in the reconstruction and relief units that operated in France, Russia, and America after World War I. As noted above, the conference held at Clermont-en-Argonne in Meuse, France, in June of 1919 issued a many-sided concern for the mission, relief, education, publication, and youth work of the Mennonite Church.

The zeal and ability of the reconstruction unit men (all conscientious objectors) was supported by a number of the church's missionaries, educators, ministers, and laymen. In the years immediately after World War I a many-pronged effort was made to "reconstruct" the Mennonite Church along more progressive lines. A committee was formed whose goal was to found a Mennonite theological seminary that, preferably, would serve all branches of the church. A young people's movement was launched that would, hopefully, involve many of the church's youth in a wider program of mission and service for Christ.

A semimonthly, sixteen-page periodical, The Christian Exponent, was published from January 1924 to August 1928, with the aim of helping the church "to understand and appreciate the historic principles of our Mennonite faith." In its first issue it affirmed belief "in the mission and destiny of the Mennonite