Declaration to the Holdeman Mennonites

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    I am not the first, nor will I be the last ex-Holdeman, to publish a letter to the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. My desire is not to expose the failures of the Holdeman church nor to boast of myself as being superior to them.
  First of all, I believe that my spouse and I are at peace with God and man, we have been reconciled unto the Lord and have received assurance of salvation as evidenced by the abundance of joy and peace we experience in our daily lives. We do not speak in tongues, we do not cast out evil spirits or pivot and cavort in odd positions while worshiping nor do we now wear silver bracelets and gold chains around our neck to express our "freedom"; we have and are experiencing that true spiritual liberty does not consist of beating drums or jabbering in unknown gibberish, nor is it composed of wearing double head-coverings (for the Holdeman ladies) or of beards and plaid shirts (for the Holdeman men).
  I genuinely appreciate the doctrines that the Holdeman Mennonite church taught me from childhood until my teenage years. By doing this, my parents and relatives actually stood me on one of the best moral foundations ever even though the way it was done was unfortunately through a type of "brainwashing". It is now, many years later that God has helped me to distinguish between doctrines (Biblical commands) and practices (outward practical applications a church lays out for its members). I believe that is one area where I misunderstood the Holdeman church. Wearing a single piece dress and black closed shoes to church is a practice. Non-resistance and separation from the world are doctrines. But the lines were completely blurred and I grew up believing that to get to heaven a woman must wear a dress and men must have a beard. We must avoid social media and any photography in order to please God and enter heaven. Needless to say my view of the church was of an authoritative institution which demanded perfect compliance which sadly I couldn't fulfill. Now nearly two decades later, God has expanded my knowledge of how a church should function and I have gained a very deep respect for the majority of doctrines outlined by the Church of God in Christ, Mennonites. With that in mind I will proceed to edit or perhaps remove some articles. I am certainly not obligated to, yet I feel motivated to out of respect.
  My motive for publishing this article is due to the fact that we are now on the brink of a major life-changing event. Awhile back God called us to a fellowship of Mennonite believers composed of various ethnic backgrounds with doctrines very similar to the ones I learned as a young person. After following the required process, and pondering the long-lasting impact on our future descendants, we are now committing ourselves to being official members of this Conservative Mennonite church with a clear conscience and much better and deeper understanding of a doctrine and practice/application.
  It was not a decision we made, it was a special calling we heard.
















               A. Mendoza
                     

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