Recently I discovered a new congregation in the area. It's not really in my area but I decided to make the drive and investigate. There was very little online and I couldn't really find a lot of information about it but the name indicated to me that they were Kingdom Christians. As such I figured they were Anabaptists of some stripe and committed to the kind of Kingdom life and ethics associated with New Testament passages such as the Sermon on the Mount.
I of course am not an Anabaptist and yet I do appreciate some of their teachings and I looked forward to some potential fellowship - and who knows? Often I've ended up attending Baptist churches anyway and so I would consider myself open to the possibility of attending there if enough things fell in line. The Kingdom doctrines I'm speaking of here - the sharp antithesis between the Church and the world, non-resistance, and (if consistent) a pilgrim ethic that results in non-materialism were at the heart of the Early Church's teachings, the doctrine of the Waldensians, and after the Magisterial Reformation, these New Testament truths and imperatives were retained by the Anabaptists and (in part) by some other groups like the Moravians.
It could also be said that Kingdom Christianity retains a kind of stricter notion of Scriptural Authority than what is found within Protestant Confessionalism. That said, in the Anabaptist wing of Protestantism there is also a long history of common sense/rationalist readings and legalism - the degree of which wholly depends on the group in question.
Hoping to have some discussions about David Bercot and some other Kingdom issues, we drove there with a guarded optimism. Unfortunately it turned out to be rather disappointing. There was no familiarity with Bercot or any of the issues I raised.
The congregation is definitely Anabaptist, in fact a good number of the people are ex-Amish. I was informed by one of the men (of non-Amish or 'English' background) that a lot of these people were a bit traumatised by their upbringing and of course breaking with the Amish results in shunning and isolation. A big issue for them was to break free of legalism and you could see how the group was wrestling with things like haircuts and head-coverings. Some still had a rather Mennonitish look about them, others did not - apart from maybe a kind of plain dress.
Sadly it would seem that they also associated the simplistic house worship of their upbringing with some of the legalism that oppressed them and so in response they seem to have embraced Evangelical norms. I was rather surprised to visit this old country church (a folded United Methodist building) and find big screens up front, guitars, and even one of those silly box drums that have become so popular. On that note, I finally figured out why they've taken off. Traditional drum playing requires skill and they're loud - even if played with brushes. I've seen churches place them behind plexiglass to muffle the sound. It's all rather silly and frankly stupid.
The box drum requires no skill apart from the ability to keep a simple beat and it's cheap. Why people feel the need for percussion in worship is beyond me. Usually at the sight of such an array I would have just walked out but I decided to stick it out.
Basically I got the impression that the group really doesn't know what they're doing, what they believe, or even entirely why they're meeting on Sunday morning. While talking with the non-Amish man before the service I expressed surprise at the screens and guitars - the contemporary worship. The Worship Wars of the 1990's are (it would seem) no longer part of most people's memories and when I raise these issues, people often seem puzzled. That ship has sailed (as they say) and many don't consider drums and guitars to be contemporary - many seem to think they're 'traditional'. This is especially bizarre to me as the men who will say this are often older than I am - a kind of amnesia seems to have set in on this point. They seem to think that contemporary means a full band with a light show and fog machine. Their guitars, drums, and the rest are conservative, traditional, and 'nothing over the top'.
Anyway, I asked about the shift from Amish/Anabaptist simplicity to Evangelical worship and he admitted that he had never even thought about it and that professed ignorance and lack of curiosity pretty much summed up what was happening there.
Since they're embracing mainstream Evangelicalism and they have no root or foundation it's clear they're wide open to outside influence. Not long ago the church hosted a conference and the teacher (based on his website) is into 'worldview' teaching. It's not hard to guess where this group is headed in just a few years. Once again, with lots of business owners and the like, they're going to be invested in society in a way they wouldn't have as separatist Mennonites and Amish - but even that's rapidly changing.
And yet the thing that just ruined the day was the chaos. I found it ironic that with these people and their focus on decorum in the realm of dress and personal conduct you would think that would produce a kind of decorum in the realm of worship. But for those who know the Amish, they'll know that they're kind of a folksy people that aren't opposed to hand-clapping and all that sort of thing. If you see them on a construction site and they have access to a radio they like to listen to country-western music.
But with this group I was left wondering if their parenting (or lack thereof) was also in a state of reaction to their legalist upbringing. There seemed to be no parental restraint or guidance and there were lots and lots of children - and most of them were completely out of control. It was irreverent and by the end had turned into pandemonium. Kids were driving toy trucks on the walls, running up and down the aisles. A couple of young boys were wrestling near the back corner where we were sitting - the one kid was obviously crying out in genuine pain. It was disgraceful and shameful to watch these helpless parents chase down their wayward children or in many cases just willfully ignore their feral behaviour.
It's never made much sense to me but Reformed Baptists that I know tend to be strict and have well behaved children - often better than some of the Presbyterians I've been around. As I say it doesn't make sense because the children are being raised as Christians even though they're not reckoned as such.
The Anabaptists do not view their children as Christian either and the Amish are known for the Rumspringa - the period during their teenage years where they're allowed to run wild for a bit, figure out who they are and then make their commitment to the Amish Church on the cusp of adulthood. During this time they'll have mobile phones, you'll see buggies going down the road blasting rock music and such like. But these were just young kids and yet they acted like pagan savage children. It was just plain irreverent and we all began to shut down near the latter part of the service. You couldn't hear the pastor, the few kids who had been taken out to the vestibule generated a chorus of howls and wails. It was awful. When the service concluded, we headed for the door. It was one of those episodes that by the time you hit the parking lot you're almost starting to break into a jog. You just want out. It was a really disappointing and discouraging day and it revealed to me just how precarious the Anabaptist community is.
Their numbers are growing - especially among the Amish and yet the old agrarian models aren't working very well. They're moving out into the mainstream economy and having all that cash in hand is changing their values. I remember twenty-five years ago you used to see Amish in town on a Friday. They would come in to shop and take care of business. Now, there are crowds of them in town every day and they're spending a lot more money than they used to. I think I related in another post how I was in the bank and I could see an Amish couple sitting at the desk of a loan officer. They were closing on a house. That's a shift in economics but even the community can't put together enough money for contemporary real estate prices.
Those that are leaving are (as I experienced) aimless and steering toward Evangelicalism and they're being targeted by the Christian Right. In swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania their votes could have the power to change elections. Is it too much of stretch to suggest that in another twenty years these groups are going to be in a state of crisis. Some might say the crisis is already upon them. They're losing their values and will subsequently lose their identity.