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2008-01-22 issue:

Schools, transfiguration and the Super Bowl

Editorial

by Everett J. Thomas

Print Article

Sunday, Feb. 3, will be a complicated day. On the ecumenical church calendar it is Transfiguration Sunday. Mennonite Church USA designates it Church Education Sunday. The Super Bowl is in the evening. All three events call for the same thing: witnesses.



Materials distributed by Mennonite Education Agency help congregations focus on the Transfiguration—the Matthew 17 account of Jesus’ journey up a high mountain, where “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” His companions were Peter, James and John. When a voice from the clouds said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” the three men fell down, terrified. The moment they witnessed has remained etched in Christian history and imagination for millennia.

The worship material for congregations observing Church Education Sunday also suggests a different kind of witness: God at work through Mennonite education. It is a message that the presidents and MEA’s leader offered in a letter to our readers last summer.

“We are witnesses to God at work through Mennonite higher education,” they said in a letter in our June 19, 2007, issue. “We are Barry, Jim Loren, Jim, Howard, Nelson and Carlos.”
These leaders were reporting on what they observe on their campuses. But such “witness” language feels new from college and university presidents. What does it mean for the schools to develop cultures of witness? There is no need to assume that students—especially college age and older—are somehow waiting to be the church. The energy young adults bring to their faith can revitalize our congregations. Stories about students who recognize and respond to God at work in the world will give new focus and encouragement for those of us struggling to understand “missional.”

While many of us are still uncertain what that word means, we do understand that God is at work in the world, and it is our responsibility to first witness this work and then join in. This orientation is now part of the DNA in the 6-year-old Mennonite Church USA. For at least one veteran church leader, this way of looking at the world is new for our church schools.

“One benefit [of the GC-MC merger] is the clear embrace of missional church nomenclature in higher education’s core leadership,” said Sherm Kauffman, who retired last month from his role as executive director for Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, “which is now willing to … talk about the mission of God in the world.”

So what does it mean to talk about the mission of God in the world on our campuses? The presidents’ letter was not specific, but they did promise four things for their students: spiritual growth and a Christian worldview; intellectual growth and leadership training; a supportive, lifelong community; and affordable education.

What does this have to do with the Super Bowl? If the New England Patriots are in this year’s Super Bowl (we go to press Jan. 16), the viewing audience will probably set a record for size. That is because millions of people will want to be witnesses to the first NFL perfect season that included 16 regular season games—a record that may not be matched in our lifetime.

But on Super Bowl Sunday we also observe Church Education Sunday and will be reminded about the way God is transfiguring young minds and hearts through church school education. This annual observance is a time to celebrate what we witness in this growth edge of the church.

 On Church Education Sunday we will also be reminded about the scene Peter, James and John witnessed on the mountain. If we place ourselves in their shoes, we, too, will receive God’s commandment when he said of Jesus, “Listen to him!”

 Jesus was transfigured by being with God. What we witness can transfigure us as well. On one particular Sunday we will have an opportunity to witness to matters important in light of eternity and a football game that is not.

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