REVIEW OF BOOKS IN PRINT
MOVING
TOWARD THE MAINSTREAM:
20th
Century Change Among the
Brethren
of Eastern Pennsylvania
By Donald R. Fitzkee, Good Books (Intercourse, PA)
348 pages, 1995, $9.95
It is obvious to those who have studied Brethren history that the Church
of the Brethren today is very different from the Church of the Brethren
of yesterday. Don Fitzkee's recent book is a kind of end-of-the-century
look at what took place in Church of the Brethren congregations of Eastern
Pennsylvania during the past century. It is a study of the rapid change
among the Brethren from being a peculiar people who stressed plainness,
to a group of people who have gradually "flowed with the times" (as Don
Kraybill says in the Foreword of the book).
Moving Toward the Mainstream is not written like typical
district histories--with an orderly listing of various churches and their
stories. It is instead a description of the transformation of a district,
moving
from being a unique people with a distinctive dress and plain meetinghouses,
to becoming a people that have copied the styles and worship patterns of
other church groups around them. It is the story of how the Brethren have
come to think and behave less like Anabaptist separatists, and more
like
mainline Protestants. Moving Toward the Mainstream is a
wellwritten description of the evolution of Brethren outlook and belief
in one of the major Brethren population centers.
The book is in some ways similar to Carl Bowman's Brethren Society
(reviewed in Volume 30, Number
6,
BRF Witness). However, instead of being a handbook that evaluates
the changes that occurred in an entire denomination,
Moving Toward
the Mainstream focuses on the changes that took place among Brethren
located east of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, in the region that
now comprises the Atlantic Northeast District. Fitzkee, like Bowman, does
not romanticize earlier times among the Brethren, but neither does he paint
the past in Brethren doctrine and practice as a time of ignorance and smug
legalism. Some historians have implied that Brethren are better off having
dropped those distinctives which have been discarded. Fitzkee does not
make the mistake of saying that Brethren are now better off without the
distinctives. A few of his interviews contain some quotes which have not
been generally true in most of the churches (for example, quotes
on pages 70, 103, 131, etc.), but over and over again, Fitzkee explores
trends with fairness and integrity.
Brethren were a people who practiced distinctive dress, and then traded
the symbols of separation for the attire of the culture. Initially, Brethren
did not participate in war, yet nearly 80 percent of its young men
marched off to fight in World War II. In earlier years Brethren shunned
interaction with other church groups, but in more recent years became deeply
involved in the liberal ecumenical movement. Early Brethren seldom divorced
their spouses, yet today divorce among Brethren has become more and more
common. Why did such a radical transformation take place? What were the
forces which were instrumental in bringing about the change? Fitzkee describes
some streams of influence which effected the move from a once-peculiar
people to becoming a part of the Protestant American mainstream.
Fitzkee's observations are fair and balanced. For example, he tells
how applicants for membership in earlier times had to make a commitment
to the distinctive teachings before they were baptized (page 47). Fitzkee
ably contrasts the free ministry and the salaried ministry models and how
they impacted churches in the district (pages 62-81). The author
frankly says that the organization of a General Brotherhood Board in 1947
struck at the authority of the elders (pages
84-85). And contrary
to the conclusions of some Brethren historians, Fitzkee quotes Brother
Nevin Zuck to document the fact that for the most part the early elders
settled disputes in fair and loving ways (page 96). With incisive
words, Fitzkee declares that "as the Brethren dressed more like the
world, they paid increasing attention to its affairs ... their entertainment
and leisure activities, and moral decisions, and the style of their meetinghouses
and worship reflected a move toward the mainstream. Things once declared
off-limits gradually became acceptable" (page 141). In a few
rich concluding paragraphs (pages 310-311), Fitzkee seems to lament the
changes that have taken place, but cautions those who maintain traditional
Brethren practices not to elevate law over love.
In earlier decades of the 20th century, Brethren emphases changed from
nonconformity to the simple life, from nonresistance to the "peace position,"
and from church authority to individual conscience. One by one, the last
traces of Brethren separatism have been discarded, and as the 20th century
closes, the Brethren are facing an increasing gulf between liberals and
conservatives, gradual declines in church membership, and serious questions
about including a number of minority Brethren-related groups.
Some of us continue to believe that the church is to be a people radically
different from the world, and that rather than being conformed to the culture
(and to other typical mainline churches), we should challenge average American
church members to practice gratefully those principles and ordinances which
have been distinctively Brethren. BRF believes that Brethren need to get
off the easy path to acculturation and become a distinctive community that
takes seriously the instructions of Jesus and the apostles.
Moving Toward the Mainstream is marked by careful research,
clarity of thought, and an uncomplicated style which makes for very interesting
reading. There are valuable tables and charts and diagrams. Included in
the book are more than 100 historic photographs which are themselves worth
the price of the book. There is an excellent set of "Endnotes" (additional
details about certain topics introduced in the text of the book).
Don Fitzkee serves in the free ministry
in the Chiques Church of the Brethren near Manheim, PA. He is a graduate
of Elizabethtown College and of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Fitzkee
has written extensively for Messenger and other Brethren
publications. Fitzkee's book will intrigue and challenge readers. It deserves
to be read widely and discussed by brothers and sisters all over the denomination.
It can be purchased from Brethren Press (1-800-323-8039, or Provident Bookstores
(1-800-759-4447) or through one of the links here.
We highly recommend Moving Toward the Mainstream.
--Harold S. Martin
July/August 1996