God’s Concerns, My Concerns

God’s Concerns, My Concerns

Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.

Romans 16:17

Some wonder about the difference between the Amish and the Old Order Mennonites. Both live and dress plain. Both have the same Anabaptist origins. The “split” happened in 1693, when Jakob Ammann, the founder of the Amish, thought that shunning should be taken more seriously. He believed only hook-and-eye fasteners would do on clothing. When Swiss Anabaptists refused to shun excommunicated members (those who’d gone against the rules of the church), Jakob Ammann and his followers broke away from and formed their own “Amish” community. Amman was also a tailor who thought the others “too worldly” with their new buttons and button holes.

Today, Old Order Amish women still do not use buttons, but some segments of the Amish church use snaps on clothes and buttons on coats or outerwear. The Amish also still practice social shunning when members of their community break their rules for daily living (the Ordnung) and have experienced church excommunication. (This is also known as being in the Bann.) The Amish believe that members who openly sin must be removed from the church, lest others fall into the same sin. When members are shunned, they are also avoided in social and business circles. Shunning (and excommunication) happens only when church members refuse to repent. They are always welcomed back if they choose to change their ways.

The Amish base the practice of shunning on the discipline prescribed in the New Testament church in 2 Thessalonians 3:14: “Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed.”

While most of us do not practice shunning in our daily lives, we should be wary of spending too much time with people who go against our beliefs because we may become comfortable with their sinful behaviors and eventually start behaving in the same way.

Dear Lord, give me courage to confront those who know better but are still living against Your standards. And help me to be wise enough not to be concerned about small differences that are of no concern.