Day 31: The Heart People

Not everyone accepts the "this is the way we do it" explanation. Some say, "But WHY is this the way we do it? There is no reason under the sun that we need to wear black shoes to church! Does the Bible SAY we need to wear black shoes to church?" These kind of people are not generally looked at with appreciation and respect among their Mennonite peers. While non-Mennonites view their disallusionment with more of a "This is not what we were looking for after all, we'll keep on searching" attitude, those thinkers within the church view it more as a reason to speak up and take up a new side!

These people form the "Heart Side". They are thoroughly sick of rules and living by the letter of the law. They argue that it's too easy to look good on the outside - follow all the standards to a T - but on the inside be full of sin. They push for a turning back to the Bible and examining what it has to say with honesty, openness and a willingness to change the things that have "always been done that way" if they are found uneccesary. Their focus is on the inside, the heart. "What's in the heart is what counts" is their mantra.

The problem is, their lack of teaching in the Art of Thinking often comes back to bite them! In their fierce scorn of standards and all the politics that go with them, they often choose to throw it all out. Too often they throw out more than they bargained for! Instead of asking thoughtful questions like "Why do we want to change?" or "Where will this track end?" They allow their reactions to drive their decisions and before they know it, they look around and wonder how did we get way out here??