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Friends United Meeting |
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January/February 1999
We Need To Talk!
By Johan Maurer
I am excited about the challenge of Bruce Bishop's "Salt and Light" column in this issue of Quaker Life (page 10). To me, the question of what God expects uniquely from Friends deserves wide consideration among all of us. It will be one of the questions raised at the upcoming Triennial sessions of Friends United Meeting, but we don't need to gather at one big conference to give this question high-quality attention; we can raise it in our local and yearly meetings and exchange our experiences here in the magazine and elsewhere. Would you be willing to raise this question among those you know who care about the future of Friends?
There is one specific aspect of the question of Friends' part in the purposes of God which merits some special attention and that is the character of Friends evangelism. For years I've heard Friends disagree on the nature of evangelism, the role of Friends' distinctives (peace, equality, simplicity, decisionmaking by prayer-based corporate discernment), the importance of racial and economic inclusiveness vs. the effectiveness of homogenous church growth, and so on. I have even overheard Friends belittling each other's viewpoints behind each other's backs. But I have rarely if ever heard these differing viewpoints aired openly by their advocates in each other's presence.
Many of these issues gained new visibility about a year and a half ago, when the Los Angeles Times published an article about growth among Southwest Yearly Meeting Friends in suburban L.A. Entitled "A Glitzy Spin to a Gentle Faith," the article implied that Yorba Linda Friends and others like them had abandoned classic Quaker faith and practice in favor of rock music, glossy promotion and blatant appeals to affluent individualism.
In the weeks following its publication, the article was widely discussed among Friends in Internet discussion groups. Some Friends accused Yorba Linda Friends Church of abandoning Friends altogether and selling out to generic evangelicalism; others pointed out that new people were being drawn to Christ and were in fact being introduced to Quaker faith and practice in small groups and by the examples of leaders in the church. They made the important point that most of Yorba Linda's critics had never visited the meeting. Such exchanges are just what we need; we just need to have them in places other than the Internet, and with many more Friends.
Some of us feel strongly that our Friends testimonies have an important evangelistic role to play. As we work publicly for peace, demonstrate equality in our dealings with each other and the world, and make public choices to live more simply, we point to the Savior with our words and deeds. Others say that Friends' testimonies have become stylized and antiquarian in their expression, and only serve to repel newcomers. These Friends may not disagree with the testimonies themselves but would say that they are discipleship issues; conversion comes first, and then the Friends distinctives should be made part of the discipling process in small groups and classes.
What if both groups are right? What if the "results" depend on the passion and conviction of the individuals working in their own specific settings, their spiritual gifts, and their faithfulness in practice, rather than the merits of the theories? Will we ever know unless we (all of us who care about evangelism) come together and compare notes on our experience, and pray together for vision and a respectful division of labor? Please let me know if you would be interested in such a consultation. We can meet at the FUM Triennial sessions to plan next steps.
Johan Maurer is general secretary of Friends United Meeting and editor of Quaker Life.
Copyright (c) 1999 Friends United Meeting
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