As I thought about the features in this edition of the journal and how I would introduce them, I kept coming back to the common theme of “community”—what it means to belong to a community of faith, as the fifth Brethren in Christ core value asserts.
In the lead article, Ling Dinse, chair of the social work department at Messiah University, shares some of the results of her research into the effects of “church trauma.” Unfortunately, for some, the very place that should be a community—a place to belong and be loved and supported—is a place of hurt and trauma. Many of us likely have experienced some hurt in the context of the church and are able to resolve or come to terms with it, but for others the hurt is severe and perhaps ongoing, to the point of trauma. With compassion for those who have experienced such trauma, Dinse and her fellow researchers describe what the church can learn and do.
Some of the hurt that some have experienced in the church has come from being excluded because of their sexuality. In the August 2024 edition of the journal, we published three views on “The LGBTQ+ Community and the Brethren in Christ Church,” by Lynn Thrush (Traditional), John Yeatts (Pastoral Accommodation), and Jay McDermond (Full Inclusion). In my editorial introduction to that edition, I said:
[T]here are limitations to a conversation like this among three individuals. The authors are all straight white men, and there are no voices from the LGBTQ+ community, although we may include some of those voices in a future edition of the journal. Further, the conversation is confined to words on a page without the give and take of in-person conversations. We hope, however, that these essays can be a catalyst for a more full-throated conversation, where more voices and perspectives and experiences can be included.1
Now, a year later, we are publishing “some of those voices” in the spirit of continuing to foster the open, healthy, and honest conversation for which we strived in the first place. I invited a variety of people, representing all three views, to respond to the articles using these guidelines:
- Describe yourself and where you fit (or used to fit) in the Brethren in Christ community of faith.
- Keeping in mind the two Brethren in Christ core values of “belonging to the community of faith” and “pursuing peace,” in what specific ways did the authors model them in their articles and responses? How might these values continue to guide the church as we discuss difficult and different perspectives on issues like LGBTQ+ inclusion?
- Reflect on your overall reaction to the three articles and the question, “How does a denomination deal with conflict or disagreement, especially when the disagreement is over core theological beliefs and established institutional policies?” Be as specific as you can.
- These articles were published with the hope that they would model an “open, honest, healthy, and more inclusive conversation.” Evaluate how well you think this was achieved and suggest specific next steps you recommend.
Not everyone I invited agreed to write, and I did not receive some responses that I thought I would. The responses I did receive are fairly free-wheeling, don’t all systematically address the four guidelines, and are weighted toward the second and third views (accommodation and inclusion), but they all add important perspectives and experiences to the conversation. As Joshua Nolt, Historical Society executive director, says in his introduction to the responses:
The Brethren in Christ Historical Society does not publish the present edition to keep the subject of LGBTQ+ inclusion front and center. We are doing what we set out to do with the initial issue: provide opportunities to reflect on the conversation that was had and how well it was or wasn’t had based on our core values. The Brethren in Christ Historical Society is not advocating a change in the Church’s theological position. What we are advocating for is a posture of dialogue and conversation in the life of the Church. Such dialogue is already present in our life together and must continue to be fostered.
The same kind of dialogue in community of these responses is reflected in two articles that continue to celebrate the five hundredth anniversary in 2025 of Anabaptism, the original theological stream of the Brethren in Christ. Luke and Christina Embree describe how their local congregation has used Anabaptist principles of community to adopt a strong house church model. Cody Cook, a newcomer to the Brethren in Christ, explores the implications of using an Anabaptist community hermeneutic to help the process of theological debate and change.
Finally, as a follow-up to his article in the December 2023 edition of the journal, “Black Body, White Soul: Constructing Blackness and Whiteness in the Evangelical Visitor (1888-1912),” Timothy Epp continues exploring how “race and social change” were covered by the Visitor in the next two decades (1913-1937). As the Brethren in Christ Church continues to diversify and welcome people of all colors and nationalities into especially the North American church, we would do well to come to terms with (and perhaps repent of?) the attitudes of our forebears, as well-meaning as they might have been.
The journal ends with reviews of books about prayer journeys, Anabaptist missions in Quebec, the phenomenon of “de-churching,” and the “new Anabaptists.”
[1] Harriet Sider Bicksler, “From the Editor,” Brethren in Christ History and Life 47, no. 2 (2024), 148; see also 151-263.
- Harriet Sider Bicksler, “From the Editor,” Brethren in Christ History and Life 47, no. 2 (2024), 148; see also 151-263. [↩]