Leaving the Mennonites

ok ok your probably jumping to conclusions when you read that title.  "Wait he's leaving us, sombody stop him."  No that is not true.  But I did come across some a very interesting article(s) by an ex mennonite only a few years older than myself.  

He starts out with the beginnings of his questioning the mennonite belief system.  I found it very interesting that he points back to music as the beginning of his journey.  I can somewhat relate to that.  I found it challenging that he not only questioned the beliefs in his church but also thought through them himself.  I find myself disagreeing with people sometimes but not really studying it myself.  Check out the first article here.

I'm impressed with how he opens himself up in article 2.  You can see that his attitude is right.  By right, I mean that he is not lashing out at the Mennonite beliefs. As seen in later articles, he did not leave only because of his disagreements.  He also put a lot of thought into his decision. He tried to keep healthy relationships inside the church even when he was deciding to leave.  Check out the second article here.

Part three is less about what he believes and more on what he thinks the mennonite church could inprove in.  It is specifically directed toward older people who struggle to understand younger people.  He gives three major ideas that youth generally have that older people tend to forget.  He also notices the gap between the older and younger generation, which is not the way the church should be and it hurts both sides.  Check out article three here.  

The fourth and final article is somewhat of a continuation of the third although this one is directed toward dissatisfied youth.  He gives some very good insites on keeping relationships healthy within the church even if you are thinking of leaving.  Just because you may want out, doesn't mean the people in the church don't love you for who you are.  Check out article four here.  

I have been blessed to hear the thought processes of someone who has left the Mennonite church.  Sometimes we get caught up in all that is wrong in our Churches and Youth groups that we forget how much community and life we have.  I want to continue the good and work on improving everything.  Sure it won't always be always but it was I want to continue to do.