Skip to Content
 

Denominations & Traditions

-->

Shalom is a Christian fellowship in the Anabaptist tradition. But what does that mean?  A Christian is a person who follows Christ in their day-to-day lives.  Anabaptism and Mennonite needs a bit more explanation.

What is an Anabaptist?

Anabaptism grew from the reformation of the church in the early 16th century [the 1500's].  People had always belonged to the single Catholic church which was the state church of most of Europe.  Over time, some people became dissatisfied with the Catholic Church and wanted to reform it. Reformers like Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther, wanted to break away from the Catholic church and pursue their own way of being church.  They took the first steps to move away from the single-church model. While they wanted to do many things differently, they continue to hold that the church should still be aligned with the state, baptizing infants as a sign of citizenship as well as salvation. 

Some of the students of Luther and Zwingli wanted to go even further. A small group of believers became convicted that the New Testament, along with the example of the first-century Christians, called the Church to be separate from the state.  Examining Christ’s own baptism and the baptisms of the earliest disciples, Anabaptists believed that baptism and church membership were meant to be an adult decision, made by a committed, consenting believer, joining themselves voluntarily to the church and the way of Christ as disciples above all else. Accordingly, the practice of “re-baptizing” its earliest members earned Christians in this tradition the name “Anabaptists”, or rebaptizers, from their opponents.  The name stuck.

Emphasizing the acceptance of baptism as more than a symbolic work, but an acceptance of a call to a new, reformed life, Anabaptists place a high value on community in both decision-making and leadership. Largely, they reject the use of violence for the followers of Christ.  While Anabaptists of various stripes integrate different emphases within this general form, they hold in common a congregationally-oriented governance, a value of simple living, service to the world in the name of Christ, and a value on the way of Christ's life as the authoritative model for the life of the believer.

Anabaptists in boat

Many of the first Anabaptists met in out-of-the-way places to avoid discovery of those who might arrest and persecute them. In the early years, many Anabaptists were executed for their faith.
   

Menno Simons

Menno Simons

What is Mennonite?

Mennonites are members of the larger Anabaptist movement. Formed as believers in this time of great changes within the Christian Church, three men among a group became the re-baptizers to whom Mennonites trace their lineage. In January of 1525, Conrad Grabel, George Blaurock, and Felix Manz decided to “re-baptize” one another, consciously choosing faith through the act of adult baptism. This is widely understood as beginning of this varied and multi-voiced movement.

Mennonites are but one strain among those who took inspiration from this. Among the early writers and thinkers of Anabaptism was a former Catholic priest by the name of Menno Simmons, for whom Mennonites where eventually named by those wishing to describe the sect.  Mennonite hold many essential beliefs about God and Christ in common with other Christian denominations.  However, Mennonites live out God's call in some ways that make them distinct, embodying the many of the Anabaptist ideals of non-violence, community, and justice, alongside sister denominations such as the Amish, Church of the Brethren and Brethren in Christ.  Many Anabaptists, including Mennonites, have experienced heavy persecution for these distinctive characteristics.

   

Modern Mennonites

Many people associate Mennonites with people who have isolated themselves from fashion, technology, and culture. While there are many expressions of Mennonite faith that would have distinctive aspects of dress and living that would be more traditional, other Mennonites have opted to follow the call of God in new ways, utilizing much of what the modern world has to offer.

Shalom finds its identity within a denomination called Mennonite Church USA.  An emphasis on a simple and modest life remains, while the expectations of specific dress does not.  A desire to live at peace and meet the challenges of the world with non-violence remains, while a once-held prohibition against participation in the political life of the country has waned. In these and many other ways, modern Mennonites continue to adapt their faith and the legacy into the modern world.

A movement that began in the cities of Northern Europe in the 16th Century lives on in the 21st century.  Modern expressions of Anabaptist church-life range from absolute rejection of modern ties to the full participation in the complex professions of a contemporary society; from midwest farmer to urban medical doctor.  Right now, there are approximately one million Mennonites in 61 countries around the world. The church has grown. There are now more Mennonites in Africa, Asia, and South America than there are in North America and Europe.

For more information on who the Mennonites are, and the foundational beliefs that tie us together, please visit the Third Way Cafe, a independent website discussing modern Anabaptists and Mennonite thought.

Who are the Mennonites?


Who are the Mennonites? A Video from Thirdway Media, used by permission

Quines los Menonitas [en Espanol]

  • Printer-friendly version
  • Send to friend
  • PDF version