October 1976 · Vol. 5 No. 4 · p. 2
In This Issue
Direction, as a publication of the four schools of higher education of the Mennonite Brethren, has always intended to speak to the churches, just as the schools themselves exist to serve their constituency.
The reiteration of that concern suitably introduces a new feature in this issue. Students at the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary who receive a Master’s degree prepare a thesis/research project. Prospective pastors (Master of Divinity) are required to engage in research that relates to the life and work of the church. We intend, periodically, to present abstracts of selected theses of special merit relevant to Mennonite Brethren.
An abstract cannot, of course, introduce all the qualifications and complications of the thesis itself. But it can provoke reflection, and it can alert readers to the existence of the study so that they can obtain the full study via inter-library loan through any local library in the United States and Canada. All three graduates whose theses are here abstracted are presently pastoring Mennonite Brethren churches.
The article by Arthur DeFehr discusses one aspect of the larger mission of the church, while the other article, by Larry Warkentin, reveals tensions that often exist in our church musicians and suggests criteria by which music for the church must be judged. The internal leadership structure of the church, addressed in both thesis abstracts, is also the subject for Hearing the Word.
