276 / The Conference in Retrospect

is quite often simply this: How much in new practices or methods can be permitted in the life of the church?

The large number of schisms call for some explanation as to basic causes. One underlying principle in Mennonite history has been the desire to maintain a "pure" church and frequently this desire has become a root of divisions. To keep the church "pure" it must, to some extent, be a separated church. There is always the fear of assimilation, i.e., becoming like the "world." Loss of identity and movements which hasten loss of identity, or seem to hasten it, have been divisive in effect. Besides the above it must be noted too that tensions arise when a group feels that the time has come for the church to take a new direction or emphasis in order to fulfill its mission. To the list of causes, of course, one must add personality conflicts between leaders and between laity and leaders. The conclusion is unavoidable in some cases that more humility on the part of all could have prevented divisions. How many new congregations have been formed or old ones severed because some persons, laymen or ministers, wanted to maintain their power and position?

Records of the Ohio and Eastern Mennonite Conference testify that divisions have come upon this conference with a peculiar severity. Whether the future will see less of these it is not possible to predict. Many lessons can be learned from the past that should prevent certain types of division. At the same time the encroachment of the surrounding society and the amount of accommodation to it will also continue to be a source for differences of opinion and belief.

Brotherhood or Denomination?

Church historians have noted that a religious group often, perhaps always, passes through stages and cycles. In its beginning the group is held together by a deep faith that its members are called to be a people of God. It begins its existence as a protest group that has broken away from the more compromising, "worldly" parent body. Persecution from the larger society, often the state itself, eliminates the weak and binds the faithful together. Discipline is practiced, and erring members are dealt with if necessary by excommunication. Regulation of dress and of the details of a way of life may be practiced. There is equality in the brotherhood; the burden of one becomes the burden of all. Leaders are